


Super Fighting Robots

by v1le



Category: Rockman X | Mega Man X, Rockman | Mega Man - All Media Types, Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Multi, Slice of Life AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 70,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27442837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/v1le/pseuds/v1le
Summary: Rock was an odd boy that would rather spend his days pretending to be a fighting robot than face the realities of his school work and X does his best as the oldest brother to set a good example for his family.Their father, Dr. Light, was occupied with a new project, making the robotics expert too busy as of late to give all of his attention to his children. That meant it fell on X to make sure Blues actually went to school, Roll didn't have to clean around the house by herself to fight away her OCD, and Rock didn't go too far into his escapist fantasy from the onslaught of the world around.To add more ripples to their life, Rock's classmate and part-time bully Bass turns out to have an older brother who recently came back to town to look after him. Although Zero's face isn't one that X is personally acquainted with, it still causes him a great deal of stress for other reasons.
Relationships: Also Rock and Bass becoming friends, Blend of that and family moments for the lights, X/Zero (Rockman)
Comments: 41
Kudos: 89





	1. Mega Man IV

“Let’s go, Rush and Tango! You’re going down, Cut Man!”

“Meow!”

“Ruff!”

“For the love of God, stop!!!! Both of you!!!” 

X ran across the street before the neighbor kid could throw the scissors he ripped off his head at his younger brother. He glared at the two boys, a hand on his hip while the other held the scissors. When ‘Cut Man’ tried to reach up for his weapon, the eldest Light brother raised it higher out of his reach.

“Damn it, I know you’re supposed to be Cut Man but can’t you get a safer attack? Why couldn’t you be Safety Cut Man?”

Rock ran over to speak with his brother, shrugging aside his worries. This only seemed to increase the intensity of X’s glare, making Rock laugh nervously.

“Aw, X, it would’ve been fine. He never aims it at me directly.”

“That’s not the point! What if the blade breaks off and one goes flying at your eye? You’re coming home, now! I bet you have plenty of homework to finish up.”

“...So mean. Bye Cut Man.”

The younger sibling waved at his friend, a clear expression of disheartenment on his face. Cut Man was disappointed they couldn’t finish their battle, too, waving him off while frowning.

“Bye Mega Man. Sorry X...”

The young boy let his older brother hold his hand, even though he knew he was too old to be letting himself get guided across the street. It was alright if it was X, if it was his father then he would be more hesitant. X was cool, he was wearing the blue leather jacket that Rock liked the most from his collection and he still had his helmet on, making him look like he was in his costume when he would play with them in his role of ‘Mega Man X’.

Rush followed them close behind, Tango was laying herself in the sun to doze off. It was a typical slow day after the boy had been released from his classes, X having just come home from his own university courses that seemed to be taking over his life. The only real ripple had been their father getting a new project to work on that was currently keeping him away from home for long hours, leaving the brunt of the house work up to his eldest children. 

X had always been responsible, he didn’t complain or resent his father’s new busy schedule. He simply would say he was used to the intense workload of his college, although since he had recently started the upper division courses he was progressively becoming more stressed. He never vocalized his panic, but Rock had seen him some late nights with his hands on his face as he hung over a text book. 

His brother was right, Rock hadn’t even started the homework he was assigned that day but he had to get the rolling cutter or he would never be strong enough to fight Dr. Wily. The creepy old man scared all of the neighbor kids, himself included. He was mean and old, someone had to stick up for everyone. So he needed to power up his alter ego, Mega Man, the fighting robot that could utilize the weapons from robot masters he fought against and become stronger. 

That was the general universe that Rock would run away to, X looking over at the dreamy expression on his brother’s face. He sighed, it was difficult getting the boy to pay attention to the real world but at least it kept him from the bouts of panic he was more prone to in his younger days. His imagination was a force to be reckoned with, gaining him the friendship of most of the children his age because his play world was so expansive and his personality so endearing. 

When they got home, X picked up after the mess left by his family members as he made his way to the kitchen. There were toys left behind by Rock and Roll, some clothes from Blues, and a couple of tools and books from their father. It didn’t take him long, Rock helping out without needing to ask. Once they were finished, X patted his brother’s head in gratitude.

“Thanks, Rocky. Now let’s see if we can make something to eat for tonight…”

“Fridge is empty, dad said he would order something for us.”

“We can’t eat out every night, I’ll head over to the store. Wanna help me out?”

“Yeah!”

“We should get vegetables...you like carrot sticks, yeah?”

“Yeah! I’ll eat the celery too, but Roll likes cauliflower.”

“I know, I know. Blues does too. If they have a good price on….”

X trails off, holding up his pen to his chin in thought. He could get chicken, maybe fish if the price was good and he had enough in their budget. Chick peas were a good source of protein and they could be ground down to make hummus for snacks. Money was tight right now, the funding for Dr. Light’s latest project hadn’t gone through yet so they were living on his meager salary and X’s own supplement. They were a big family, so feeding all of the kids took some creativity on X’s part. 

He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt Rock climbing up his back. He was on his shoulders, putting his hands over X’s eyes to blind him.

“If they have a good price on what?”

“If they have a good price on meat for the little terrors…”

“I don’t like meat...did you know chickens get force fed to make them fatter? And they’re smart, too! I feel bad eating them, how about mac and cheese?”

“That’s not very healthy…”

“Pasta?”

“That’s better, I can work with that. Pasta it is, but growing boys need to eat properly.”

“Mega Man doesn’t need to eat! I drink energy tanks!”

Rock accented his point by jumping off his brother’s shoulders to grab a lone soda can from the fridge. X added soda to the list, the Hansen ones without sugar. He winced thinking about how much he would need to spend, they really didn’t have anything for tonight...at least pasta was cheap. He prayed the produce would have sales. 

“Alright, I think I know what to get now. Can Mega Man be a good boy for me and do his homework while I’m gone?”

“Yeah I can! I can handle that mission no problem, Commander X!”

Rock saluted his brother at that, X playing along and returning the gesture. He looked around for his helmet, Rock snickering.

“You never took it off, your helmet’s still on!”

X looked up at that remark, eyes widening. 

“You’re right...it was a long day, ok.”

“I don’t know how you do it, I get annoyed explaining math to Cut Man every time.”

Rock was referring to X’s job as a tutor at a community college near his main university. It was a good place for people who had finished highschool to go instead of the straight path to a more intense school, X having multiple friends who attended it. He liked the campus, applying for the position when his friend Axl said he had a gift for helping people understand painful subjects like Math and Science.

“It feels good to help people, you know that. Besides, the pay’s good enough and I can study on the job when it’s slow.”

“You study at work, too? You do that all the time at home!”

“My school is harder than yours. You’ll miss these days once they’re gone.”

“Yeah, yeah, you always say that. I still don’t miss 3rd grade, that was boring…”

“I should get going before Dr. Light gets home, he’ll probably be dead tired and hungry. You still need to get to your homework.”

“Ok, ok, ok, I’m going.”

Rock ran off, Rush following him loyally to the boy’s room. X went out, mounting his motorcycle. He looked up at the sky, Blues should be walking home soon with Roll. He had made it his brother’s responsibility to accompany her back from her dance class so he wouldn’t wander off, that boy had a habit of disappearing that stressed the eldest sibling to no end. Dr. Light told him not to worry so much, they were in a safe town and Blues knew better than to get himself into trouble. 

Still, he was glad the middle brother had the same protectiveness over their younger siblings as himself. He took his duty with pride, no doubt carrying Roll on his back as they walked down the sidewalk to their house.

Once sitting at his desk, Rock looked through his homework problems. He decided English would probably be the least painful to start with. They were given a creative writing assignment, some descriptive poem or something along those lines. 

Poetry was boring, but creative writing he could work with. He was coming up with a story where Mega Man defeated Dr. Wily yet again, taking some loose inspiration from a cartoon he saw once where a battle had turned into a rock opera. His reasoning was rock operas were kind of like poems, least he hoped enough to where his teacher wouldn’t mark him down. That led to the creation of a new villain for this story, a robot named Ballade that would be another threat to Mega Man’s constant fight for peace. 

It took him what was most likely a fair amount of time, he still wasn’t finished writing down the whole story even when he heard the door being unlocked. He heard Roll’s voice yelling in happiness to greet Rush, the dog’s nails scratching against the floor as he ran around. 

Blues was whistling, looking around the house and feeling slightly guilty to find it was cleaned up. He knew it was X’s doing, he had meant to beat his older brother home so he could take care of it beforehand but it had taken longer than he expected to get Roll to leave her dance class. She just had to go and say goodbye to all of her friends, one at a time, making conversation with each one…

The younger siblings were textbook examples of extroverts, the polar opposite to himself. He wanted nothing more than to leave right then and there to quiet comfort of the Star Droid cafe, but he knew better than to leave Rock and Roll alone in the house. He would wait until X returned, walking over to sit at the dining table while he pulled out his homework. Before he began proper, he remembered that he hadn’t gone to check in with Rock yet and decided it would be a good idea to make sure his younger brother was being responsible with his own studies.

He knocked on his door gently even though it was open, more as a sign of respect to his privacy than anything. Rock looked up, smiling at his brother.

“Hi Blues! Wanna hear about the new story I came up with? You’re in it, Break Man rescued Mega Man again, then they took down Dr. Wily together!”

Blues smirked at that, ‘Break Man’ being the name he came up with for his character in his brother’s playtime. It was meant to refer to break dancing since he was fairly skilled in that regard, his brother loving the name instantly. He forgot how many years they had spent perfecting his role in the story, Break Man seemed to always appear at just the right time to rescue the hero. 

Even heroes need heroes, that’s what Blues told Rock when the boy first scrunched his nose up at the idea of Mega Man needing to be rescued. He relented when he saw the costume his brother had come up with, the idea of a robot wearing sun glasses making him way too happy. 

Blues sat down at his brother’s bed to listen as he read his homework assignment out loud, making minor corrections along the way when something sounded awkward or Blues gave him a tip on how to make it flow better. At some point Roll walked in, sitting on the floor so she could listen in.

“Hey, how come I never get to go on the adventures…”

Rock rolled his eyes at that, his sister had asked that question many times before. He gave the usual answer, his voice tired as he recited it.

“Because you’ve never made an alter ego up! You have to be somebody, how about Ballet Woman? Or Aria Woman? It’d be nice to have the extra hero to help beat up Ballade before we have to face Dr. Wily.”

Roll stuck out her tongue in disgust, not liking the sound of any of her brother’s options. At least they sounded better than some of his previous ideas.

“No thanks...I like being myself too much.”

Rock giggled at that, his sister just didn’t appreciate the idea of getting to be a stronger version of herself. As Rock, he was stuck with being his powerless, boring self. Rock couldn’t handle rooms with too many people or loud noises, he got scared of too many things. But Mega Man could do so much more… Like take down the new addition to the Mega Man killers he came up with in this story. 

“And that’s why you don’t get to fight Dr. Wily.”

“Hmph”

She made a raspberry at him to accent her point, Blues laughing at his siblings immaturity. They all looked up when they heard the door opening, X’s voice echoing in the halls.

“I’m home! Who wants to help me cook?!”

Blues and Roll came running out, Rush barking excitedly to greet X. This time the eldest sibling took off his helmet, once his hands were free he patted the loyal dog and scratched behind his ear. Another hand ran through his hair, the mess of his spikes sticking to the sides of his face. He looked down at his sister, smiling warmly. 

“Hey there, how was dance today?”

Roll looked up at him, her chest pushed out with pride. She was smirking.

“Mrs. Rafflesian says I’m a natural! Just ask Blues!”

Said middle child nodded his head, frowning slightly at the exhausted look he saw on X’s face. It was probably from yet another long day of school, work, and his studies. Blues was grateful that he was young enough not to have those kind of worries but old enough to appreciate how hard X had to work. 

“Glad to hear it! Wanna give me a hand in the kitchen?”

“Yeah, you bet!”

She was running over to wash her hands in the sink in preparation, Roll always glad to help out around the house. She was the beloved youngest sibling for a reason, it was hard for any of them not to respond to her bubbly energy. 

It didn’t take long for dinner to be made, the door opening when X was setting the table to reveal Dr. Light.

If X had looked tired, it was nothing compared to their father. The heavyset man seemed to drag his feet, not being able to bring out his usual energy when his youngest children and the dog were running circles around him in greeting.

“Dr. Light!!” The youngest brother and sister yelled out at the same time, not realizing how tired their elderly father was and dog piling on him. Rush jumped up as well, the old man dramatically pretending to fall to the ground from the joint weight. 

“Oh no, not Rock and Roll!”

He wrapped his arms around the two children, they screamed in delight when the large man lifted them up, somehow finding the energy to embrace his family. He took his time carrying the pair to the dining room, smiling at his other sons who were waiting in their seats.

“Welcome home, Dr. Light.”

“Thank you for taking care of things, X. Blues, I’m happy to see you’re here too!”

He bellows out his laughter, stumbling slightly from pushing himself beyond his limits while trying to hold Rock and Roll at the same time. He finally puts them down, but not before kissing each of them on the forehead. Rock crinkles his nose, the feeling of the old man’s beard becoming comparable to a broom. 

“You need a shave.” Rock laughed when he said this, Roll giggled too at the mental image of their father with a naked face. 

“You need a shave.” Dr. Light responded, the accent being put on the ‘you’ directed towards the small boy. 

“Alright, let’s have dinner already. Who wants to hear about my project?”

Rock was practically jumping at the offer.

“Me, I do, I do!” 

While the old robotics expert discussed the progress of his new study, robots that would be able to assist children with autism in varying degrees, his children hung onto every word. They all admired what Dr. Light did for a living, creating robots that were meant to help make life easier for people. It was difficult making it accessible to those who needed it the most, but that was why Dr. Light didn’t make very much to begin with. His goal was making it so everyone could benefit from his studies, and in that regard his funding was more humble than some of his colleagues. 

Once he was finished discussing some of the more technical aspects to X, Rock was offering to tell his father about the story he was coming up with for Mega Man’s next adventure. Dr. Light told his youngest son it would be his pleasure, hearing the riveting tale of how Mega Man would have to defeat Ballade with the help of Break Man and Rush in order to get to Dr. Wily’s fortress. 

All of his children made him proud, but they all knew that there was a special bond between Dr. Light and Rock. Perhaps it was because they shared that level of creativity, both had a habit of dreaming up ideas that would seem out there or bizarre to others. He saw much of himself in the boy, and though he would never play favorites he couldn’t deny there was a warm feeling at the way his son’s face would brighten then darken at the different twists and turns of his story. 

They were happy together as a family. It wasn’t always easy, but they were comfortable and safe in their little home, watching as Rock finished the recent adventure for Mega Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> waddup, in a burst of anxiety and existential dread over the future, this story came into fruition. Idk if i’ll finish this one, i know I said that last time but i really mean it. It’s a lot more on the slice of life side than mhr was. Would you believe me if I said this was born out of a joke that Zero would make a good underwear model…


	2. Mega Man V (GB)

Blues was enjoying the new coffee selections that Terra so graciously set up for him. The bonus had been that he was the first to test out their inventory’s recent additions. He loved the coffee tasting sessions the Star Droids would have periodically since it usually meant free drinks and snacks. 

The dark roast was exactly the type of beverage that suited Blues’s tastes, it was smooth and he only needed to add a couple spoons of brown sugar to be content. The 13 year old had been through some 4 cups of coffee, they weren’t filled to the brim so he figured it wouldn’t be that bad to his already horrendous sleep pattern. How could he say no when there was free coffee on the table? 

It was nice that he didn’t have to worry about making his family anxious today, this was one of those occasions where X had driven them all in Dr. Light’s car for the outing. Blues was glad he was able to convince his older brother that maybe the new scenery would do him some good with his studies. Nour and Terra had been urging Blues to bring the eldest Light sibling along one of these days, they hadn’t seen their friend for weeks. 

There was the added benefit that playing with the children in the area would be a good outlet for Rock’s oversupply of energy. Said youngest Light brother was currently in a heated game of Mega Man with some of Nour’s cousins. Jupiter was the same age as Blues, and Neptune was a year younger than Rock but somehow towered over the boy. Most children tended to be taller than Rock, he was a little guy. It was a family trait they were all famous for.

The middle Light brother couldn’t remember the proper names of the boys playing with Rock, the whole planet motif had come about so long ago because Terra’s name was a reference to Earth. His boyfriend’s cousins loved the idea of basing themselves off of that, creating an entire history of their powers and planets of origin. The children were Jupiter and Neptune as far as most people were concerned after they came up with the alter egos. 

The evil band of robots were called the ‘Star Droids’. It was a slight misnomer of a name since they weren’t technically star based Androids, most of them being planet based. Nour was the lone exception and had gone with the most unoriginal, Sunstar was his alias and Terra loved the novelty of it all so much it stuck around for years. 

There were very obvious bong hits involved that day, the younger children didn’t notice but Blues saw how much the prior session aided in the creative process. The older boys were laughing particularly loud while they watched X make an idiot of himself while wearing his helmet and carrying Rock on his back. It had them in hysterics, eventually Terra deciding it would be fun to be X’s heel in their game. 

There wasn’t an actual resolution, the Star Droids ‘returned to their planets’ after X had Terra in a headlock for some 5 minutes. The friends were laughing too hard and collapsing onto the ground while Mega Man took care of Neptune, Jupiter, and Mercury on his own. Blues had the suspicion X might have also had a few hits from their stash, but didn’t say anything. He did notice X was way more relaxed than usual, whistling while he carried Rock on his shoulders back to their car. 

X wouldn’t be able to have fun like that today, currently drinking from his own coffee. Unlike Blues, he would take it with cream and sugar. Terra and Sunstar had been long time friends of his so he hadn’t even needed to tell the other man how to make it when he walked in. 

They had all gone to high school together, himself, Terra, and Nour. X wasn’t a bad kid by any means, oftentimes made fun of for being the good child who studied too hard. For a little while, Terra would heckle the shorter male and wonder how in the world some of the cooler kids he knew tolerated the guy. Something about being respected among his peers for having stood up to bullies for his friends’ sake, the logistics being boring to the Star Droids. 

The one incident that had cemented their friendship had involved someone important to them getting hurt. Vile had beaten up their mutual friend, Axl, pretty bad. They left him in a critical state at the corner of an ally. To make matters worse, a necklace from his grandfather had been stolen. It was the only tie the boy had to his family. 

Terra was already surprised when X said he was heading down there to teach them a lesson and get the item back, more amazed that the little guy pulled it off. Something seemed to have snapped in X that day, when he came back to their group successful and saying that they wouldn’t need to worry about Vile anymore, their dynamic changed.

Since then they were the best of friends, including X helping tutor Jupiter and Neptune free of charge. His one repayment he wouldn’t turn down were the free refills and the quiet space to get away from the house, though it was increasingly difficult to spend any time on events that didn’t include his studying materials.

X had brought his laptop so he could keep looking over his coursework, but it was difficult not to glance over to watch Rock yelling. Something about how he would find a way to protect everyone from the Star Droids, this planet was his home. 

Blues glanced over through the windows of the front of the store, watching as Neptune used his water gun against Rock’s nerf darts, reminding Rock that ‘Earth weapons were useless against Star Droids’. Blues found himself laughing at their dialogue the several times he listened in, he really needed to find a way to get those kids to pick up a book or something. 

“Neptune! I won’t let your evil forces take over the Earth! Let’s get him, Rush!”

“Your planet is as good as ours, Mega Man! You can’t defeat me!!”

Neptune had a water gun filled with salt water, wearing scuba diving attire mixed with a helmet that had protruding ‘fins’. Jupiter wasn’t allowed to fight with them today, he hadn’t finished his homework yet like Neptune had. He could only watch longingly, glancing between his worksheets and the epic fight happening outside. 

He looked up at Terra with pleading eyes, hoping the older boy would cave to his pained expression.

“Not until you finish your math.”

Looking back down at the blank worksheet, Jupiter wished that it would magically be completed. He sheepishly glanced over at the eldest Light sibling, clearing his throat to pull X’s attention away from his laptop.

“Hey, X...can you help me out?”

X smiled in good nature, not letting it show that he was wise to the child’s trick of pulling in an outsider’s sympathy. Instead he made a show of pretending to be split in decision making. 

“Hmmm that depends...only if Terra says it’s ok.”

Jupiter looked over at Terra, seeing his chances of getting away from the painful work load slipping. He might have had a chance if Nour were outside with him, but the co-owner of the coffee shop was presently in the back room prepping the new pastries and sandwiches for their guests to test out. The green haired man he had to deal with was sneering, looking over at X with clear amusement. 

“Not this time, his mom says he’s gotta learn how to do it on his own.”

X shrugged in mock defeat, trying to look sympathetic when he faced the boy. 

“Sorry kiddo.”

Jupiter was groaning loudly after the exchange. 

When X looked back outside, he noticed that Blues had gone over to join Rock since Neptune still had the upper hand. He did have a water gun, it was funny watching when Mega Man would conveniently remember he was a robot and water should make him short circuit. And yet that never seemed to stop him from coming up with ‘under-water’ levels in his adventures…

“Break Man!”

“I couldn’t stand by and let you get hurt, Mega Man! Besides, who else will I have to fight with if you get canned? It’d be boring without you.”

“Wow, thanks bro… Let’s just save the Earth already”

Blues used a ‘shield’ when he was Break Man, usually whatever book he was currently reading did nicely to guard against the random toys used by Mega Man’s enemies. In addition, he had his own buster, a red nerf gun appropriately. He had his sunglasses on and his scarf pulled over his face, making him appear mysterious and cool to any one under the age of 12. 

Roll was listening in as well, failing to see what was so interesting that another of her siblings had to get involved. She quickly wrote it off as Blues being weird again. Her focus went back to the DS in her hands, she had Harvest Moon to be playing and that was miles away more interesting than Rock’s silly game. Internally, she refused to be jealous of the fact that she wouldn’t be able to fight with all of them. She took a sip of her own drink, no coffee since she was only 8 but the lavender honey lattes Nour made for her were great. 

She glared outside when she heard Rock and Neptune screaming. 

“Aw, no fair!!! I almost hit you with that one, Break Man!”

“Almost only counts in horseshoes, Neptune. Besides, this shield is waterproof.”

Rock looked at his brother with concern, breaking out of his world when he remembered how much Blues loved his books.

“Are you sure you’re good, brother?”

“I’m not using my imagination, Rock, this is a hardcover and the pages are laminate. I’m not dumb enough to walk into a fight with the wrong equipment, unlike some people…”

Rock pouted at him, not liking the remark at his expense. He couldn’t stay angry for long when he had his brother fighting by his side. Break Man rushed in to take away Neptune’s water gun, the other boy flailing his arms to get it back. Now that Mega Man had Break Man and Rush by his side, they were unstoppable. Least, that was how Rock felt looking at his older brother with admiration. 

It was unfortunate that it couldn’t last forever. Hearing the scuffle outside, it seemed more of Mega Man’s friends were getting interested in this current battle. Quint and Punk had appeared some moments after hearing Break Man’s small victory, assisting Neptune since they were all in agreement that Mega Man needed to be destroyed. 

Once the hero of Earth was out of the picture, they could be free to do as they pleased. Rush was running up to lick the boys, the dog loved most humans that were known to pet him in the past.

“Haha, I guess Rush is on our side, too!”

“No way! Break Man, we gotta do something! They kidnapped Rush!”

Punk was hugging the dog, letting himself get covered in Rush’s saliva. He was wearing his father’s leather jacket that had spikes protruding all over, clearly too large for the boy but he loved it anyway. Quint had brought his pogo stick, though he wasn’t trying to jump and attack at the same time since he learned a lesson from the previous battle. The result had been him on the ground, crying in pain while Sunstar and X tried to patch him up. 

It was three on two now, Rock looked at Blues uneasily. It was hard to admit that they might be in trouble, but he didn’t want Break Man getting hurt when his energy system wasn’t as good as his own. The time that his brother had one of his moments during play time and fainted on the concrete still resonated in his mind, and he’d never forgive himself if Blues pushed too hard just to make Rock happy. 

“I think we need to call on the android of the future. We need his infinite potential, Break Man!”

“Rock, I don’t think that’s a good idea! X is pr---”

Rock was already running inside, X knowing the exact words that would come out of his mouth. Blues looked awkwardly at the group of boys, smiling sheepishly. Rock had a habit of running off without telling anyone what his plans were, something that came off as weird to people outside of their family. He was mentally preparing himself to defend his brother’s odd habits.

X saw the boy practically jumping in front of the table, smiling expectantly when he saw he had his eldest brother’s full attention. 

“Hey, Mega Man X. Your planet needs you.”

“I can’t be a Mega Man right now, I have a test tomorrow. I only agreed to come down here so I could study, remember?”

“Mega Man X can do anything, you’ll do great on your test!”

X tried to fight down the laughter bubbling up from his brother’s reasoning. He really wished he was as smart as his siblings thought he was. His last exam had been a blood bath, some 50-60% of his class had failed. That didn’t do much to ease his sense of self loathing looking at the bad marks.

The older brother looked at Rock, his face softening as he felt himself torn between making his brother happy and trying to increase his chances of not getting his ass kicked by the complicated equations waiting for him the next day. 

“Mega Man X doesn’t need to go to school, he already has a full time job.”

“Aww, come on! All you have to do is show up, use your X buster to give us an edge, then you can go!”

“Yeah, sounds simple...why not ask Terra to help you?”

“He’s the leader for the bad guys, you know that! He would never betray the Star Droids. Just like how you’re the big guns for us!”

Rock was fidgeting with the rush of excitement when he saw his brother standing up, a look of defeat on X’s face. He knew he was too soft, but his brother cheering him on seemed to make him feel a little better about neglecting his notes.

X walked over to the group of boys, feeling silly and knowing that Terra was probably watching the whole thing with a shit eating grin. He borrowed a nerf gun, preparing himself.

“Star Droids, how dare you mess with my comrades! Your evil schemes end here and now!!!”

Roll could only look up a few times before burying her head down on the table, trying not to blush in shame. She got the most second hand embarrassment when X got involved, he seemed to be taking it in stride when there were two boys hanging off of his arms. He was laughing it off at least, enjoying himself despite how silly he looked. 

He fell over when it turned into all of the boys forgetting their game in favor of jumping on the eldest Light brother. Almost all of them, Blues deciding last minute not to join in. He was chuckling then disappearing when he saw Nour waving him over with the new additions to their food menu. It would be fine, Rock seemed content crushing X’s chest with the brunt of his body weight. 

Once he had pushed all the children off his body, X was dusting himself off and removing his helmet. He could feel sweat clinging to his face, looking around to make sure the boys returned to their homes alright. There was a bit of pride in his chest watching all the kids waving goodbye to Rock and making him promise they’ll have a rematch next time with Sunstar and Terra. When Rock walked over to his brother with a look of admiration, X felt like his time wasn’t wasted at all. 

“Alright, happy? Earth is saved---”

“Thanks to the Mega Men!”

“Please don’t call us that, I’m just X now.”

“Yeah, I like X too. Way better than Xavier…”

X laughed at his younger brother’s disgusted face to accent his disdain for X’s real first name. It was their father’s middle name, and their father’s father's name, and his father before him had that middle name…

The history of the name didn’t make it suck any less, those were Blues’s exact words on the subject matter. X was X. Everyone called him that, that was his official name to the people that mattered in his life. 

The members of the ‘Mega Men’ looked over to their comrade Blues whistling, he looked happy with the food on the table and had to draw his siblings’ attention over so they wouldn’t miss out on anything. Jupiter, Neptune, and Roll were taking a break from their previous activities to sit with Terra and Sunstar, taking samples from a little bit of everything. 

X sighed, he would never get anything done…

Terra caught the look on his friend’s face, sharing a glance with Nour. When their friend was within speaking distance, Terra looked around before offering his idea for a solution.

“Seems like being here hasn’t been the most helpful...you know we don’t mind Blues sticking around, I can give him a ride home if that makes it a little easier for you.”

“Would you? God, I’m sorry I just wish I didn’t feel like a complete idiot every time I show up for class…”

“You’re not an idiot, you weirdo. You’re just around a bunch of other super smart kids in a big school. Leave the brat with us, you go do take care of business.”

Blues looked up indignantly at that, Terra smirking at him. X felt an immense amount of relief, even though he knew this didn’t guarantee he would be able to concentrate at home. It was something, he smiled at his friend once he had his attention again. 

“I owe you.”

“I know.”

He laughed at the end of his sentence, flipping his long hair over a shoulder. They knew in reality X didn’t actually owe him anything. 

The eldest Light sibling drove off with Rock and Roll, they were content with returning home while Blues had been overjoyed that he was allowed to stay until Dr. Light was finished with work. 

Once the group was back at their house, the youngest Light siblings were given their objectives. Roll had finished her homework already so she was free to relax but Rock still had a fair amount of worksheets to get through.

Sitting at his desk, the boy stared at the blank sheets for some 20 minutes. His mind was wandering, he still had the rush of energy from before and it was making it hard to focus. Rock knew it would be a challenge to get anything done until he could rid himself of the excitement in his chest, raising his hands to the ceiling in frustration when he realized he still had so much to go through. 

Instead of torturing himself further, the youngest Light brother decided to go for a walk around the block to clear his head. He would be able to power through the rest of it after getting some fresh air alone, sneaking past X and Roll in the living room. X was so busy writing notes from the textbook on his laptop that he didn't notice Rock tiptoeing along the carpet in a crouched position towards the door. 

Rock ran in triumph at his freedom when he could confirm he was out of hearing range to the others. It was a short lived victory, he instantly recognized the tall raven haired boy across the street that thankfully hadn’t noticed his presence. 

Bass was playing with his dog, Treble, and it looked like they were doing training exercises. The dog would obediently go through the motions, only needing small hand gestures to follow his master’s instructions. Much different than how Rush would react, Bass’s dog seemed almost mechanical with how attentive he was with his owner. Bass didn’t pay attention to anything else either, Rock thought to himself as he watched. 

The Wily child wasn’t the type to play with the other children in their area, not that they offered him anymore. He was notorious for his acid tongue. That, and him having the meanest old man on the planet for a father made everyone weary.

Bass was something else, even though he was the same age as Rock he seemed to hit a growth spurt prematurely. It might’ve been a contributor in making him so grumpy, he was mean and took an extra amount of enjoyment in breaking things. He seemed to find the most entertainment when those things didn’t belong to himself, laughing maniacally in a previous encounter where Mega Man’s ‘buster’ was torn in half. 

Later that day, Rock pretended he broke it himself so X and Blues didn’t march down to the boy’s house demanding an apology. Or worse, Blues potentially starting a fight with him...

Rock stayed out of Bass’s eyesight, remembering the last time he spoke with the taller boy he was being threatened with losing his arms if he got in his way again. All he could do was watch his peer playing by himself, not understanding the feelings in his chest were empathy. There were conflicting feelings from other events in the boy’s history that only Rock knew, but he wouldn’t make that knowledge public. 

For some reason, watching how Bass often played with only his dog for company reminded Rock of his younger days. Back when he was too scared to be around more than one person at a time, and oftentimes the overstimulation of the sensations around him would make him freeze with panic. He would instead stay in the backyard with Rush, this was before Mega Man came along. He fought down those feelings, looking up at the sky and enjoying the clear weather. It was still warm, the fall weather hadn’t fully taken over yet so he didn’t need a sweater. 

On his travels, he eventually found Tango lounging on the sidewalk. He swooped the cat into his arms, bringing her back with him to their home. Even though it had probably been a little under an hour, X was still sitting in the same location as when Rock had left him. The one difference was it looked like he passed out and was dozing on top of his notebook, there were papers all over the table covered with numbers and letters Rock couldn’t even begin to understand what meant.

Instead of waking him, Rock went over to Roll, his sister seeing the plan hatching in his head.

“Hey, sis...how about we let X sleep a bit and we take care of everything before Dr. Light gets home.”

“Sure, why not. There isn’t anything good on tv anyway. What should we make for dinner?”

“Uhhhhhhhh….”

Rock ran over to look through the fridge, his eyebrows furrowed while he thought. 

“You know how to cook eggplants, right? I can clean while you cook.”

“That’s fine, and yeah I can make eggplant parmesan.”

They were an effective team, Rock using his inability to feel tired to clean up the living area in no time at all. Usually routine tasks like using a broom or vacuum could be made fairly entertaining if he pretended they were power ups for Mega Man. Once finished, he could help Roll clean up the kitchen while they waited for dinner to be ready. 

X didn’t wake up until Rock was shaking his shoulder, he tried not to weep with joy when he saw that his siblings had gotten so much done. It was in these moments that he felt he needed to work harder to do well in school so he wouldn’t let them down. He guiltily moved all of his belongings from the dining room table, making a promise to himself that he would stay up late until the complicated equations made some semblance of sense. 

It was dark out by the time Dr. Light came home, greeting his children in the living room. He apologized for making them wait, but no one seemed to mind having dinner when the sun was already down. It was actually becoming their new normal since their father’s schedule changed. 

Rock had brought his school work with him while he ate. He now had the resolve to power through it, having accomplished so much and making his family happy. The youngest Light brother was grateful his father and older brother didn’t make a snide remark about the fact that he still wasn’t finished, instead they were talking amongst each other about the doctor’s research. It was easy to tune out their grown up conversations, he would listen in again once something interesting came up. 

After cleaning everything, X looked outside a few times. Blues still wasn’t back, he was debating calling to check up on him but didn’t want to risk sounding too much like a mother. He couldn’t help it, the boy wasn’t a trouble maker but he did have less than stellar health that would occasionally cause dizzy spells. X looked around nervously, asking if his father had seen the middle sibling on his trip home. 

“I can’t say I have, but I’m sure he’s fine. Around this time he would be with the Cain’s family, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Probably, yeah. I just wish Terra didn’t let him go...”

“It’s fine, X. He’s as independent as you were at that age, you shouldn’t worry so much. Go rest up, I’ll be here for him when he returns.”

“Alright…”

The family said good night to each other, Rock and Roll not commenting on their brother’s absence. Rock figured Blues would tell him about what he was up to when it struck his fancy, the mystery of his travels being Rock’s favorite trait. 

Some time past midnight, Blues opened the door to their home. He was quiet, walking into the living room to find Dr. Light reading on his chair with Tango in his lap. Blues didn’t say anything, simply nodding at his father in acknowledgement since he didn’t want to make noise. He found a place for himself on the couch and pulled out his homework. 

They spent some time together like that, sitting in silence. Their unspoken agreement kept away any weight or tension that might’ve caused a rift between the father and son. At around 4 am, Dr. Light looked up from his book at Blues.

“You should try to get a couple of hours of sleep at the very least, you won’t be able to function at school later and I’m not letting you miss.”

Blues wordlessly followed his advice, glancing at Rock and Roll’s room on his way to his own to make sure they were sound asleep. He smiled at them, content while he quietly prepared himself for bed. 

Maybe he might actually show up for class tomorrow...that way he could check in with Rock during recess and see if Mega Man needed Break Man’s help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like how Terra and Sunstar looked like they would fit in with the X game robots, back in the old art style. I can see Terra wrestling with Zero and hanging out as cool guys with awesome hair. that’s exactly what I’m not going to explore in this story :v 
> 
> Blues has vertigo and gets sick easy, that’s his thing. Because why not
> 
> btw: Nour is arabic for morning/light, hence Sunstar’s real name being Nour in this story and he’s loosely based on Egyptian mythology so yeah. Had to fight with myself between that or Mansoor.


	3. Mega Man and Bass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m putting a warning ahead of this chapter to let readers know there’s subtext for toxic family dynamics. it’s never explicit harm done on any characters, but it’s there. If that makes you uncomfortable, I apologize and I hope you make the best decision in protecting yourself from potential triggers.

X was trying not to cry, but the feelings of hopelessness were there and he could feel the sting in his eyes. He had an exam for a class that week and an oral presentation for another on the Monday right after. On top of that, he had assignments from computer science and math due. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay ahead of his studies, something he prided himself on having no trouble doing before. 

He looked at his books, trying not to become traumatized with the material he had to learn. He was hitting a wall, 2 hours straight of no progress was ruining his concentration. X decided it would be easier to prepare dinner for his family and clean around the house, at least he could do that right most of the time. 

Not far off, while his brother fought down the self loathing over the fact that he wasn’t getting his work done at reasonable hours, Rock ran home with a grin on his face. He was excited to tell X and Blues all about Mega Man’s adventures that day from recess. Mega Man had managed to get Elec Man’s ability, then they joined forces to take down Cut Man once and for all!

Maybe. Cut Man had a way of getting new scissors no matter how many times they were broken or an adult took them away. Extraordinary how whenever he needed a pair, somehow there was one nearby and readily available. The Robot Master said it wasn’t simply convenience, he was a cut above the rest and could find his weapon any time. Elec Man flashed him with his ‘lightning’, saying that was crap. His actual phrasing was much cruder than that, but Rock would never repeat a word worse than ‘crap’ or ‘damn’. 

Following his usual path to his house, the youngest Light brother passed by the Wily residence. He frowned, pausing to look at the house briefly. It looked so sad compared to the other homes. Whereas their neighbors usually at least tried to keep their front yards maintained and alive, death seemed to be the motif of the Wily Fortress. It felt like a fortress, it was mostly grey and it seemed taller than the other houses on that block. The shadow it left over the sidewalk gave Rock the sense that the building was looming over him. 

It reminded him that Bass was most likely inside those walls, who knew what it was like growing up in a house that wasn’t particularly homey. The boy who lived there wasn’t evil, although some of Rock’s friends would disagree with that statement. Today he had given them more evidence by interrupting Mega Man’s adventures, pushing Rock aside rudely and saying he was too loud. Rock fell to the ground, he was alright since they were on the grass but the aggressiveness of the action still made the other boy’s rush to their friend’s aid. Elec and Frost were hovering over him while Cut glared at Bass. 

The raven haired boy laughed at them while he walked away, Frost muttering that he must have been some kind of demon spawn. Who would want to have a child with Dr. Wily, anyway? There was no other explanation for his birth, the other boys agreeing. Rock interjected, not liking the way his friends were talking about Bass. He was mean, but he wasn’t evil. He didn’t scare Rock like Dr. Wily did...

None of the children actually bothered the old man, he was too scary looking and the way he would yell at the children not to play near his yard made him infamous around the neighborhood. Apparently he had been a former partner to his father, Dr. Light, but Rock didn’t know the details. All his father told him was that Dr. Wily was a very pitiful person who they should all be patient with and avoid. Right after their father would say this, Blues would turn around and say he was an asshole low enough to where only Rock and Roll could hear it. Rock would glare at his brother’s word choice and Roll would say he would have to pay into the swear jar. 

There were a couple of times that Rock had walked by the house, he heard him yelling at Bass in a way that was jarring. Rock never heard adults talk to himself the way some of them did with Bass, but his father was an entirely different realm of fear inducing. It might have been why he couldn’t bring himself to hate the bully, it seemed like he was living in his own personal hell having someone yelling at him that he needed to be ‘the best one, the best one!’ then promptly telling him how stupid of a head he had if his actions weren’t up to his satisfaction. 

Today was no different, he winced when he heard something being smashed to the ground. He rushed over to make sure Bass wasn’t physically hurt, grateful when he saw it was an accident that didn’t harm anyone. It did make him sad however when he realized that it was Bass dropping his plate from wincing at Wily’s yell.

The way the old man moved his arms in exasperation but not actually touching Bass still scared Rock. He didn’t know how Bass managed to stay expressionless, his dog looked scared in the corner watching the whole display. 

“Help me god, help me god, what am I going to do with you...get out of the kitchen, I’ll clean it up. Just grab something and get out.”

“I’m not hungry...”

“Then go, I’m tired of looking at you.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, I’m leaving!”

For such an old man, he could move pretty quick. He was looming over the boy in seconds.

“Would you like to repeat that comment?”

Bass glared up at him, and for the first time Rock saw fear on his face. The raven haired boy stormed away, Treble following after him after exiting his hiding spot. 

Rock walked away shortly after, his good mood completely forgotten. Those types of moments were why he couldn’t bring himself to hate the taller boy. Regardless of how mean he was to Rock and his friends, it had to be because he had to deal with a real life villain all alone. That’s what Dr. Light would say, the biggest bullies sometimes were the ones who dealt with some of the worst things at home. Blues said that wasn’t true in all cases, and Rock should still protect himself accordingly. Rock still chose to believe that this was one of those situations where it was applicable. 

It was in those moments Rock wished he could actually be Mega Man and rescue the boy from his father. Dr. Light was the best guy in the world and would gladly welcome him into their home, but he knew a solution wasn’t that simple. 

He felt helpless, tears started to fall while he walked home in a slump. Rock was no hero, he wasn’t even good at sticking up for himself, let alone other people. No matter how much he would wish he could help people in a meaningful way.

Maybe that was why he felt so stressed at first when he started making friends, it seemed everyone had complicated lives. He felt like an outsider observing it all, unable to help anyone with their struggles. He had some reassurance in the fact that, generally speaking, Mega Man made his friends and the adults he would help out happy. 

When he got to the familiar front yard of his home, he felt secure in himself again. It was enough to fight off the bad feelings still lingering, he ran to the bathroom to wash his face so X wouldn’t see he had been crying. He smelled dinner being made, reminding himself he was hungry and X no doubt had made something he would love in between his studies. 

Rock ran down stairs to triumphantly greet his family. The eldest sibling smiled at his brother, Roll was walking around setting the table.

“Hi X!! Hi Roll!”

“Hey there, Rocky. I made Tuna Casserole, I hope you don’t mind. ”

“It’s ok, the fish forgive you. Tango eats fish too and that’s ok, right Tango?”

Said cat was lazily hanging on the couch, not even moving at Rock’s words. There was a lot on his mind, he couldn’t form the words but X could see his face deep in concentration. It was adorable for X watching how his brother would think, an outsider could practically see all the effort Rock put into it with his nose crunched up and a hand on his chin. After a moment, he looked up at his brother, blue eyes meeting green. 

“Hey, X?”

“What’s up?”

“Nothing…”

X looked at him confused, then went back to finishing up the meal. He wouldn’t push the subject since it was clear the other wasn’t finished formulating his thoughts. Roll appeared at X’s side, smiling proudly.

“I set the table and the living room is clean! I also finished all my homework, so can we watch the Bonne Bunch while we eat?”

“Thanks Roll, couldn’t have done it without you. I don’t know...if I double check your work and it’s not up to standard I’m not going to be happy.”

“I promise it’s all right! I think so, at least...I tried really hard, I promise!”

“Alright, alright. I’ll just give it a quick once over, you go wash up.”

He patted her head then she skipped off, the sound of the television in the background being comforting. Rock didn’t say much over dinner, eating his noodles slowly while he kept thinking back to Bass. He was probably locked alone in his room with his dog. 

It kept him out of the conversation Roll was having with X, talking about her day and how much fun she had at her dance class with Kalinka. X nodded along, asking questions in genuine interest for her social life. They both were at peace with the fact that Blues was ditching them tonight, probably sharing his company with Dr. Cain’s long winded stories. X did take a few seconds in between to glance at Rock, playing it off like he couldn’t tell the boy was struggling with emotions. He would talk to his brother about it when he was ready.

Rock thought back to the many times he had broken household appliances, tools, and even heirlooms around the house during the instances he was invited to be Dr. Light’s lab assistant for the day. He knew it was partially a game between them, but he did appreciate how the old man would take the time to explain how the concept of electronics worked or anything they had their hands on.

Even when Rock made mistakes or broke something while helping his father at his office, Dr. Light never raised his voice. He always said they were simply accidents, and everything could be replaced and he was grateful to have his son as his smart lab assistant. Rock didn’t know how to explain it exactly, but he liked that his father included him as much as he could into his busy life. He wouldn’t know how to handle it if the gentle old man were to one day turn on his son and yell at him to get out of his office.

He went to bed with a heavy heart, looking at the ceiling then at his sister a few times in the bed over. She was sleeping peacefully, no doubt exhausted from her day’s activities. Roll wouldn’t last long with a father like Wily either, and that thought brought out the protective side for his family. Something was stirring inside him, he wanted to help Bass. He just had to figure out how…

Of course Rock couldn’t do it, but maybe Mega Man could find a way in the end.

***********************************************************************************************************************

The next day at school, when Rock saw Bass at the entrance gate, he ran from his brother’s side to greet the classmate. Blues watched, too shocked by the move to stop Rock. He mentally prepared himself to run to his brother’s aid if the other boy got nasty, giving him the benefit of the doubt. There had to be some reason Rock would rush up to the boy as though he were a friend.

“Heya Bass!”

The taller boy glared at him, he was in no mood for Rock’s cheery attitude. He had been looking forward to a day filled with the general populace ignoring him, the one person whose company he did enjoy having just dropped him off. And yet, there was the most obnoxious of his classmates looking at him with a kind smile. For some reason those peaceful gestures infuriated him more than people pretending he wasn’t there. 

“Get lost, unless you want me to crush you at recess.”

X and Blues poised themselves for defense, not about to stand aside when some kid was being rude to their brother’s well meaning presence. Blues was ready, but X stopped dead in his tracks when a tall man with a ponytail appeared behind the bully. 

Blues paused, looking over at X in confusion as to why he suddenly was choking on his tongue. Roll had no idea what was going on, looking between all of the boys and coming to the conclusion she liked the new man because he had long hair tied up with a green string just like herself. He also was smiling pleasantly, the only person in the area who didn’t seem affected by all the tension. 

The stranger placed a hand on Bass’s shoulders. 

“Don’t be mean, apologize to your friend.”

Bass turned around in a swift motion to yell up at the man. The fact that he was allowed to enter Bass’s physical space and the boy wasn’t uncomfortable with his presence made it clear they were close. 

“He’s not my friend!”

“You still should be more polite. Maybe then you might actually make some friends.”

The raven haired boy had to laugh at the absurdity of the words. Making friends with Rock Light, the idea of it was disgusting. Their dialogue was almost playful, it reminded Rock of how Blues and X would talk to each other. Then that meant...

“Aw come on, it’s just Rock…I don’t need him!”

Rock was looking between the two. He’d never seen this man before, but it was looking like he must have been a member of the Wily family. It wasn’t just that their dynamic was a positive one. Even though his hair was blonde in contrast to Bass’s jet black, they still had a remarkable amount of similarities. 

It was hidden under some of the tall boy’s bangs, but Rock was good at picking up small details like that. There was no mistaking that they had the same widow’s peak. They also had the same eye shape, though this boy didn’t look nearly as mean as Bass did. This man appeared to make better use of his sharp chin and nose, somehow looking more likely to be friendly than Bass ever did. It was hard to say since Rock’s mind had a weird way of forming logic. 

The youngest Light brother decided he liked him, for some reason his presence seemed safe. It made him curious why the other hadn’t been there the night before when Bass needed a protector. He wouldn’t hold that against the other though, since he was here now and it seemed his presence made Bass feel secure in himself again. 

“Uh, excuse me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around, I’m Rock Light! I go to school with Bass. What’s your name?”

Rock politely extended his hand in a gesture of good will to the man who towered over him, Bass rolling his eyes at his older brother returning the favor. Rock didn’t know why the way the man was careful not to grip his hand too tightly made him feel good, but he was glad he wasn’t the type that would apply too much pressure. He clearly had strong hands, but he was gentle with Rock. As a byproduct, the boy’s opinion of the man seemed to only improve.

“You can call me Zero, I’m Bass’s brother. Sorry for his behavior, I heard from his teacher that there’s been some problems relating to his attitude. I figured I should be more involved now that I have the time. If he bothers you again, don’t hesitate to rat him out to me.”

X could only watch with his jaw dropped. Roll and Blues looked at each other, then back up at their brother. Roll waved a hand in front of him then looked back at Blues in confusion. Blues shrugged, X seemed not to be on this planet anymore. It was remarkable that Rock’s gift for making friends was pulling through when X seemed incapacitated. 

The eldest Light brother was having a hard time processing the man in front of him for several reasons, all of which he would never be able to explain to another human being. The biggest one being that this man was the same one in a few men’s underwear catalog pictures that X had looked at some hundreds of times his freshman days of college. In summation, this man was the one who helped X out when he first realized he was attracted to men. Truthfully, he still used them as references for stress relief when he was alone. 

To see him alive and apparently being related to a neighbor kid, this whole time…

He couldn’t handle it, not out in the open like this when their respective families were right there. X was already in a shaken state because of the stress from school. One of his staple spank bank materials being a real person was enough to make his brain implode in on itself.

The eldest Wily brother was walking over to them, smiling pleasantly in good will. 

“I take it you all go with Rock?”

Blues and Roll nodded, X struggling to form a single word in reply. There was an attempt.

“Uh---er---”

Zero seemed unbothered by the other not even being able to look him in the face. He glanced between him, Blues and Roll.

“I’ll see to it that Bass doesn’t bother him anymore, I’m really sorry he had gotten so out of control.”

Bass glared indignantly at his brother

“I am not!” The younger brother snapped at Zero.

“You can be a jerk, but at least you aren’t the worst person in the world.” Rock chimed in, Bass angrily turning to him.

“Yeah, yeah, the worst guy is Dr. Wily!” Roll spoke up, and Bass relented at that. 

He and Rock were nodding in agreement, Wily really was the worst. Bass finally relaxed his posture, his anger diffusing. He still hated Rock, but it seemed his family wasn’t completely composed of idiots. Shit talking his father was therapeutic.

Zero was laughing after watching the whole exchange. X could only stand in silence, thinking the man’s laugh was sexy and having a hard time focusing on anything else.

“You’re a smart kid, Rock. You’ve got a nice family too. I’ll catch you guys later, let’s go Bass.” 

He gently tugged at his brother’s shoulder at the end of his words, not wanting to risk giving the boy any space to go terrorize other classmates. 

“Hmph…”

They were gone as quickly as they had appeared, Rock watching them leave with interest. Zero seemed like he would make a good bridge to becoming friends with Bass, seeing as how he was almost his opposite. Plus there had been plenty of times that Blues and X had helped Rock make friends back when he wasn’t that good at it, he figured it would be similar for Bass. The Light siblings waved each other goodbye, Rock and Roll promising to meet up after class since she didn’t have any activities after school that day. 

That day of school was just like any other, and that meant when recess came around, it involved Rock playing with his friends in Mega Man’s next adventure. Elec Man, Frost Man, and Cut Man were chasing after him. Break Man was sitting under a tree, reading his book while overlooking his brother. 

At this grade he didn’t have recess, but he had a useless class at that time frame. He had no reason to attend the course, choosing instead to keep an eye on Rock. He didn’t like what he saw with Bass that morning, if Zero hadn’t been there then Blues had no issue intervening. One swift, satisfying fist fight would be enough to get the boy off of his brother’s back for good. It would have to be a last resort, though, since violence would make Rock upset. 

Plus this was a nice chance to get some fresh air and watch as Mega Man pretended to be hurt by the electric shocks of Elec Man’s flashlight. Frost Man was using an ice slush snack he got from lunch as means for his attack. 

As the heated battle raged on, across campus the raven haired boy walked down an open corridor while lost in his thoughts. He was pulled out of his musing by a pair of scissors landing in front of his feet, just barely missing him. He glared, knowing full well the only people stupid enough to send projectiles like this. 

He picked up the scissors, pausing to let the children come close enough to view his next actions. Bass was delighted as Cut Man made a pained expression at him ripping the blades apart at the plastic hilt holding them together.

“My Rolling Cutter…”

“If you want them back, try and take it.”

Bass was smirking at him, holding the broken tool in his hand. 

“That’s not nice, Bass.”

Rock and Blues were walking over, Mega Man having a serious expression. He didn’t back away when Bass was suddenly in front of him, glaring him down. Rock felt brave having known that he could get Bass’s brother on his side and Blues was arm’s length away.

“And what are you going to do about it?”

“...”

Bass’s voice was deadly low, his eyes boring into the shorter boy. Rock held himself firm, looking right back and not even thinking that he might possibly get beaten up in a couple of seconds. They stared at each other for a while, the tension made the other boys nervous. Cut Man looked down, feeling guilty that a fight might break out because he threw his scissors too hard again.

Bass stomped at him, Blues quick to put himself in between the two seconds after the action was made. 

“Cut it out, there’s no need for that. You wouldn’t want me to tell your brother, would you?” 

Bass grit his teeth at that, glaring at both of the Light children in front of him with all of the disdain he could muster. 

“Why not just face me yourself? Need an adult to fight your battles for you, Broke Man?”

“His name is Break Man!!!”

Frost Man felt the hands from Elec Man and Cut Man slapped on his mouth right after he spoke up. They all hated the idea of anyone being disrespectful to Blues, but it was Bass they were dealing with. None of them would last in a fight with that monster…

Blues was unfazed. He had a slow fuse, so it was hard to say anything that made him offended. It was only when Rock or Roll needed his help that he was serious. This seemed to be enough to get Bass to back off, he cursed about ‘fucking kids’ under his breath in a way that Rock could just barely make out. 

Releasing a held breath, he looked to Blues in gratitude. 

“Thanks, Break Man. You saved me again.”

“Don’t worry about it. Are you all alright?”

The group of children nodded profusely, grateful that they had managed to make Bass go away without violence needing to be involved. Rock heard the bell ring, signifying recess was over. He was sad that he’d have to wait until later to see Blues again, but he waved him off with his usual perkiness so the elder sibling wouldn’t worry about him. 

Blues threw a peace sign, walking off to wherever it was he went when he wasn’t watching over Mega Man. He was wondering to himself if he should go back to class, not finding any good reason to merit his presence for the painfully boring lectures. Instead he made his plan to go see Dr. Cain, if someone was going to talk his ear off at least it should be a person with interesting things to say. The old man might even have some new books for him to take. 

Once Rock was sitting in class, he glanced over a few times to watch Bass from across the room. Because he was a ‘problem child’, he was designated to a seat in the far corner where he would usually stare out the window and ignore everyone. 

Their teacher wasn’t someone Rock liked very much, Mr. King may have been perfectly nice to Rock since he was a good student most of the time but the way he treated other kids sometimes rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn’t say the exact reason, but he never would trust the man after he saw on the first day of class he pulled Bass aside to tell him he wouldn’t ruin his class with his shit attitude. Bass was blank, probably immune to adults talking to him that way by this point. 

Rock still hated it. He was careful not to let his classmate know he was being watched, but Rock finally settled on writing in his notebook the next Mega Man adventure. It would be Break Man getting into trouble, so Mega Man teams up with a new robot to take down King. He left the name blank, hoping someday Bass would come around and be able to create his own alias. He looked dreamily at the pages, liking the way the story was coming together. 

They may not be friends, but it was a starting point. They were able to take down a common villain together, meaning they could be friends if the new robot learned how to be nicer.

Rock knew his head was above the clouds with that kind of wishful thinking, but he let himself enjoy the fantasy world anyway. He hadn’t been to a museum in a while, so why not use this incredibly self indulgent day dream to explore one with someone he hoped would someday be a friend? Plus he could put in a lava pit just for fun. 

Once released from class, Rock waved goodbye to his friends, promising that they would pick up on their battle for good tomorrow. He ran over to find Roll, having a hard time pulling her away from Kalinka. The friend of his sister was weird, she was always way too happy when she saw Rock. It made him feel awkward, Roll saying Rock was denser than a house of bricks.

Blues made it a point to meet Rock and Roll as they exited the school gates, the duo running up to their elder brother. He let them share their respective school day, Roll taking up most of their time since she actually enjoyed her classes and Blues had already spent time with Rock earlier. The middle Light brother gave her his full attention, much more than could be said for Rock. 

The other boy was half listening, still thinking over the final fight with King. Rock liked the endings where the villain would last minute turn good, he hated having too many bad guys. It made the world look like a scary place, and Mega Man was supposed to be the kind of hero who could make friends with anyone.

When they reached their house, it was odd not seeing X at the dining table. His book bag and his laptop were in the right place, but no sign of their eldest brother. No one looked into it, Roll wandered off to tidy up the place so she could focus on her school work and Blues promptly walked back out the door so he could return to Dr. Cain’s house. He figured X had to be somewhere close seeing as how his motorcycle was parked outside. Rock stared at the empty table for a while, eventually pulling out a chair so he could sit across from X when he did return. 

Presently, the eldest Light sibling was rummaging through his things with the desperation of a caught criminal right before the police arrived. He had almost begun his studies until he remembered he needed to get rid of all of his source of shame lest he ever try to strike up a proper conversation with the Wily brother he met that morning. 

X had a paper grocery bag filled with all the pictures he owned of Zero’s modeling career, fully prepared to shred then throw them away. He didn’t realize he had gotten a little obsessed with the blonde man, but how could he not? He was stunning in the different pictures. One of them, his favorite he might add, had been the man in short swimming trunks and laying across the beach. 

He wasn’t oiled up like some of the usual models, he wasn’t the most muscular or the tallest but toned enough to where his muscles shone in the sunlight. The man was actually on the shorter side for most models, which might’ve been one of the many facets X found appealing from him seeing as how X was a less than average height male himself. Zero might’ve gotten taller since then, it was hard to tell for certain since X hadn’t known him back in those days. The man he met yesterday seemed stretched out by comparison, leaning towards the slender side of builds than the more solid man in the picture. 

Zero’s arms and legs were crossed while he was with his eyes closed and a cigarette held in one of his hands, an edgier look was the style of trunks he was wearing. He was meant to be a nonconformist sort, the type that didn’t care about the brands he was wearing but still managed to look good. A group of attractive girls were trying to wave over his attention, but the man was more occupied with relaxing on his beach chair by himself.

X liked to fantasize that he could pull the man out of his thoughts, placing himself on top of him and kissing him roughly. They would wrestle around on the sand, Zero pulling X tight against himself so he couldn’t get away. God, what X would have given for the chance to bite his neck…

X shook those thoughts away, it was incredibly rude and creepy to have them when he actually knew the guy now. Just his luck he would turn out to be a neighbor kid’s brother.

He would have to fight away his feelings when he was around the other man, simple as that. That means throwing away all of the pictures he had of him and never masturbating to ideas of him again. No more fantasies of the man jumping out of a cake on X’s graduation day wearing nothing but a pair of Calvin Klein's. No more nights of staring longingly at pictures of him posing in different outfits and backgrounds.

X would be a mature young man who treated people with respect and dignity.

…

…

He would do that after he had one last hurrah with the picture he was holding in his hand. 

X knew he was the worst, but he was stressed from all the due dates and exams looming over his head. He would find a new way to deal with his pent up tension after he cleared his head.


	4. Mega Man Battle and Chase

Blues had been on one of his ditching class streaks again, today it was to spend time with the Star Droids. He really liked Terra, his long hair and punk style was ultra cool. It’s why the boy had been trying to grow his own out so he could style it like the man. Blues also liked that he was significantly less uptight than his older brother so it was easier for him to talk about how much he hated sitting still in class.

Terra let him talk while offering him as much coffee and day old pastries as Blues wanted. The taro filled buns were a personal favorite, Blues making a note to himself to visit the bakery that made them on one of his trips. Blues had a knack for fitting in anywhere, his temperament was easy going and he seemed happy to be of assistance. It was a trait the Lights all seemed to have, Terra noticed, though Blues was the most chill of the bunch. Somehow he was on a similar wavelength as Terra and his crew when they had a few hits, able to follow their thoughts and give appropriate musings while sitting in their circle.

The neighbors in the region were pretty tightly knit, it was a poorer side of town and everyone seemed to know everyone else. The people residing on either side of the small cafe knew Blues well by this point. The Iranian restaurant owner had sent him home with free food some days, then the old former archeologist would invite him in for tea while he shared the adventures of his youth. Dr. Cain would comment he once had a son that was similar to the Light boys, Blues saw the pained expression that would follow after and would change the subject back to his discoveries.

Blues liked those the most, saying one day he wanted to go to all of those places. He would read a lot of books in his spare time to learn more about the world, sharing what he learned from the people he talked to and what he read to Terra presently. Currently it was something about how in Latin America it used to be a common place to grow tobacco next to coffee, supposedly giving it a smokier taste and therefore better.

When he paused to take a sip of his coffee, he froze at the feel of a hand on his shoulder. He turned around slowly, knowing that there was only one person that would enter his personal space so casually.

X was smirking at his brother, Blues looking up with wide eyes covered by his sunglasses then looking over at Terra for help.

“Hey, I didn’t tell him you were here but I can’t bail you out every time…” Terra snickered at the end of that.

It was funny how even with the huge sunglasses the kid always wore, there were other ways to tell how expressive he could be. Some of those expressions, namely the look of getting caught red handed, looked more humorous on him than on Rock since he tried harder to keep his calm.

“You shouldn’t, he’s in big trouble. You realize it’s a crime if you get enough absences, right? Dr. Light will get in trouble. ” X may have been smiling, but Blues could tell he was dead serious. He nodded his head, looking guilty as he tried to come up with the best thing to say .

“Alright, I’ll go tomorrow but I don't see why it matters. I pass all the tests, I turn in my homework...I don’t need to be there!” Blues crossed his arms while he spoke, pouting lightly. X laughed at the display, Blues could be so mature at times and yet he really was still a kid.

The trio heard the bell of a customer walking in, Terra smiling up in recognition.

“Zero! Long time no see, glad you could make it!”

“Hey Terra. X, Blues, that’s a pleasant surprise”

The blonde nodded at the others, walking over to Terra so they could bump their forearms. X could only watch, his mind completely distracted from Blues’s punishment once Zero had appeared.

The cool handsome guy had remembered him...and greeted him...and X needed to get his mind away from overthinking now that the subject of his attraction was in the room but it was getting harder to do as the minutes passed.

X was completely hopeless, but luckily Zero seemed not to notice. The eldest Light sibling should be so lucky that his crush was on someone so dense, Terra thought to himself. It was adorable, the Star Droid knowing full well the other hadn't even made the time for a first date because he was so studious.

When Zero asked to use the restroom, the second he stepped out Terra was smugly grinning at X. The other man glared at his friend, not wanting to hear any of what he was about to say.

“I saw that…”

“Shut up”'

“I can give you his number if you want, seeing as how you’re too much of a chicken shit to ask for it yourself.”

“It’s not like that!”

“Easy, he might hear you.”

Blues was snickering, then holding up his drink at Terra’s direction.

“Can I get a refill? I want you to do this again.”

X was able to refocus his attention on his brother, his mind clear with Zero out of the room.

“I think you’ve had enough free drinks for today.”

“Can I get one to go at least?” He looks between the two men in pleading. It was hilarious to imagine he was making puppy eyes under his shades, but somehow they were able to tell.

“Fine, fine. One more, but you gotta leave with your brother.” Terra headed over to the espresso machine to prepare the drink for the middle Light brother, still with a grin on his face from seeing X’s response to Zero’s presence. And here the owner of the cafe was starting to think X would die a virgin.

He knew they would meet some day, actually Zero was somewhat familiar with what X looked like. He had shown a few photos from high school to his friend, back when they were taking a few community college classes together.

Zero tended to keep to himself, having gone to some fancy private high school then dropped out due to picking too many fights and not liking the general vibe. Terra could relate to that, having bonded over a mutual hatred toward the GE’s they were required to take. They promptly spent the remainder of the classes they shared as friends.

Having shown some memories from his high school days, Terra mentioned his old group and how X was too busy to spend much time together anymore. Zero commented that X was cute more than once, Terra offering to introduce them, having given away that X swung that way if Zero was curious. The other man replied he didn’t have time for that, he had two jobs on top of his school work.

It seemed since the other completed his degree and landed his new job he finally had more free time, hence his increased involvement in Bass’s life. It just sucked that his dad was such a shit head, he still wouldn't even call him 'Zero'. All the more reason Terra was glad to see his old friend back around town instead of miserable at home. He worried about him, it seemed his depressive bouts would cause him to isolate himself with his pain.

X was a good influence, the green haired man was sure of that much. He made Terra cool off from his hotter tempered days, making life a little easier with his mature presence. He didn't give unsolicited advice, but he was someone you could turn to if you had a problem and he always found a way to work through it logically. In time, Terra was sure that side of him would pull through once he was done acting like a nervous wreck.

The Light brothers had left before Zero returned, the blonde coming back to see Terra cleaning the counter of the hot drink bar. Terra looked over at him briefly, then returned to his work.

“So...waddya think of X?”

“He doesn’t like to make eye contact.”

“That’s just with you, he’s cool once he gets comfortable.”

Zero folded his arms over his chest, bored with the subject already. His mind was occupied with more present matters, but it seemed his old friend was amused by something.

“Hmm”

“He’s got that whole ‘I wanna be the best for my family’ thing going on you got trapped into. Speaking of which, where’s Bass?”

“Dunno...he was supposed to have turned up here, we agreed to meet at 4. He’s probably taking his sweet time. The brat wouldn’t pick up his phone.”

Zero's frown deepened, he must have spammed him with at least 5 calls and several text messages. He was worried, Bass was building himself a reputation that the elder Wily brother didn’t approve of.

Not far off from the coffee shop, Bass was running away from a group of boys. It seemed a child he had taunted for being a weakling had gathered his older sibling and some of his friends for revenge, and Bass didn’t like his odds in a 1 on 5 match.

“Cowards!! Come at me one on one like real men!!”

“Ha, that’s a good joke. You always fight dirty!” One of the boys replied, the others laughing at the comment.

Bass was cursing, this was bad. He couldn’t keep this up much longer, he prayed his legs would get him to the Droid Cafe soon so he could hide behind his brother. It was the wimpy way out, but he really didn’t have any options right now.

X was riding on his motorcycle with Blues holding on to his waist, his mind lost in thought about the mysterious older Wily brother. He really needed to get over his physical attraction to the man, it was clear he was going to be a part of his life now so he shouldn’t be so awkward around him. Blues whistled to get X’s attention, making him stop his vehicle.

“X, look over there! It’s Bass!”

The boy ran past them, the group of angry children following him close behind. X parked then jumped up from his motorcycle at that, not even needing to think before taking action.

He was fast on his feet, cutting them off ahead so he could firmly stand in their way. X was shorter than most men his age, but as far as children went he was tall enough to be an imposing figure.

“Hey, cut it out! What’s going on here?”

The boys stopped, looking up at the grown man in front of them. A few of them X recognized as being Rock’s friends, making him soften his gaze. He didn’t like what was going on here.

“There’s no need for this kind of violence, you should all go home. Go on, get out of here!”

Most of them hung their heads in shame, X was someone most of the children respected so it made them feel guilty having him angry with them. When they had all dispersed, X turned around to find Bass shaking like a leaf against a wall and looking at him in disbelief. The eldest Light brother knew now wasn’t the time to lecture the boy about how he behaved with other children when he looked so scared..

“W-what’s this all about? I didn’t need your help!” Bass hissed through his teeth at the end of that, too embarrassed to thank X for saving his life. X was looking at him with the same expression Blues recognized when his older sibling was watching those stray dog commercials, already able to predict the next words his brother would say. He was such a softie...

“Need a ride? I was just taking Blues back, it’ll be a tight fight but it won’t take us long.”

Bass looked at him with wide eyes, glancing at the vehicle. Blues waved at him, looking especially cocky. It was tough fighting the temptation of getting to ride with X, Bass cursing himself for his weakness.

“Ok…”

They rode through town, Blues asking X to take the long way so Bass could enjoy the motorcycle trip. The raven haired boy didn’t show it, but internally he was having the time of his life. When Blues asked his brother to pop a wheelie, usually the elder would say no but wanted to give the other boy a good time before he had to face his brother. Bass gripped onto X’s jacket and screamed, smiling the whole time.

X and Blues were alright, definitely much less obnoxious than Rock. It made him slightly jealous that the brat had a nice family that he could spend time with. The way Blues always seemed to be right there when the younger brother needed him pulled at something in Bass’s throat.

He had seen them all so many times, their perfect little family with their overly sweet father. He couldn’t resent Rock’s happiness for long, remembering that he had his brother back home for good this time. When Zero said he wouldn’t disappear anymore, it took everything he had not to cry like a wimp.

He would never tell Zero he was grateful for his presence, he was too ashamed of his own weakness. When the other got into one of his moods, however, it left Bass feeling particularly lonely. His brother would disappear in the past, often getting busy with work or some other side project. Sometimes for days on end, leaving Bass alone with their father and making the boy especially miserable.

He didn’t hate his brother for it, the only person he did hate was the man they unfortunately had to call a parent. It wasn’t fair that Zero had to spend more time now with the awful old man just to make sure Bass was alright. When he showed up later that night and heard Bass had effectively locked himself in his room for 4 hours, he could tell his family members were arguing long after.

Once it was quiet again, Zero walked in and they talked. Bass was glad the other didn’t push it, knowing that the younger sibling hated talking about his feelings. At the end, when Bass was falling asleep, Zero promised him that he would always be there for him.

Bass slept better than he had in awhile, at peace from having his brother’s presence. It seemed their father was also happier having Zero around. The bastard sure changed his tune from calling his eldest son useless to telling his coworkers how proud he was of him once he landed his fancy government job.

It made Bass sick, and he could tell Zero wasn’t buying any of it even when the old man was being nice to his face. He seemed to tolerate the other’s acid tongue, suddenly saying family was important and wanting Zero content so he would be home more often. If Bass didn’t know any better, he would think Wily loved his eldest son. But he wasn’t an idiot and there was still the elephant in the room of how Dr. Wily would talk about Zero to their extended family, meaning there had to be something else going on. When he told Zero that, his brother’s reply was that it was more complicated.

'How can you say that after he--'

‘You can love your family and still hurt them...it doesn’t make it ok, and if he bothers you, you come running to me.’

It was technically a victory having the old man so happy, it meant he didn’t let out his anger when he returned home from work the following days. Bass wasn’t sure how long it would last; the happiness and pretending he loved his family. It was only a matter of time before Zero stopped being of use.

When that time came, Bass hoped his brother left and didn’t look back. He wouldn’t blame Zero for leaving him behind, though he might be jealous for a little while.  
Not realizing it, Bass held tighter onto X’s waist. X didn’t mind the boy effectively hugging him while he rode back to the Star Droid cafe. 

They arrived too soon, Bass jumping off to get some distance between himself and the others in case someone saw. They walked inside, Zero’s face with clear concern when his brother came into view. Bass approached him and tried to hide whatever shame was left over from his previous encounter, looking up nervously to Zero glaring with a hand on his hip.

“Wanna tell me why you’re late?”

“Sorry…”

“It’s alright, I just hope you weren’t getting into it with some other kid. Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

X stepped forward, composed enough to speak on another’s behalf.

“Actually, Bass here was fine. I thought he might like a little detour around town, try to spread some good will so he might warm up to Rock.”

Bass was choking, wanting to say like hell would he ever warm up to that loser but realizing it would be better if he kept his mouth shut. X was covering for him and had given him a fun time, he shouldn’t screw that up. Unfortunately, Zero still seemed suspicious.

“Really?”

X could tell the other man was looking at him with a face that expressed he wasn’t buying any of it. It’s not like X was lying, but he could see where it might be hard for Zero to believe that Bass would want to hang out with any of the Lights. Blues stepped forward to help his brother out.

“Bass here needed a lift, and X offered him one with his motorcycle. I take it you understand how that kind of offering would warrant a temporary truce.”

Zero smirked at that, crossing his arms over his chest. Blues’s way of articulating the scenario had the elder Wily brother lowering his guard.

“I see...that’s a bit more convincing. Sorry for doubting you X, I thought you drove that dad car around town.”

At that X was releasing a pent up nervous laugh. He could feel his usual composure breaking from having the attractive male giving him that kind of look. One where he was almost impressed with X, but that wasn’t possible and X refused to let it get to his head.

“No, the dad car goes with my dad, it’s just safer to use when I have to take the whole family. He didn’t like my choice at first, but I’ve had it for a while now and no accident, so I must be doing something right. ”

X was scratching his head, praying something would happen so he could end this conversation. He felt uncomfortable, thinking he must sound every bit like the idiot he felt like. Why would Zero give a shit, he was probably thinking it would be better if they never had to speak to each other again. Or worse, thinking X was trying too hard to be impressive and promptly laughing about it once he left the room.

Yet when X eventually looked back up to face the other man, he didn’t look annoyed or bored. He couldn’t tell what thoughts were running behind those blue eyes. Somehow that made him feel even more insecure.

“You must be a good driver then. Come on Bass, we need to head home. Bye Blues, I’ll see you later X. Maybe next time you could give me a ride.”

They waved off the Wily brothers, X watching long after they had left in Zero’s car. Blues didn’t say anything, he didn’t need to. X was probably going to be his own worst enemy for a while, he should leave the other alone with his thoughts for a bit. Though it would make for great teasing material, the temptation was incredible and becoming difficult to avoid.

Their ride home was uneventful after waving goodbye to Terra. When Blues looked up at his brother’s face and saw the dopey smile once Zero’s implications of that last farewell became clear, he knew the opportunity had come. He pulled himself closer against his brother’s back to make sure the other could hear him.

“X and Zero, sitting on a bike...k-i-s-s-i-”

The way his brother's eyes narrowed immediately made it all worth it.

“Shut up. You’re still in trouble for ditching.”

“Shit…”

"Language."

"Sorry..."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That weekend, Blues announced that he had come up with a new idea for Mega Man’s adventures. The inspiration came to him when X refused to go over the speed limit when Blues said he drove like a grandma, prompting him to think how much fun it would be to race some day.

Rock was jumping up at that, Roll looking somewhat disappointed that Blues was going to waste a perfectly good afternoon on these shenanigans. At least it was nice that he announced it to everyone and he wanted to spend time with his family. An oddity given that by now on a Saturday, Blues could have been long gone on his personal ventures.

Slapping his hands together, he told his siblings the entire plan.

“We’re going to have a race! We can make cars out of cardboard boxes and run through the neighborhood in a loop. The winner will of course be the person who completes the circuit first.”

“Blues, you brilliant mad man!!! You’re incredible!”

Rock never was one to be shy about praising Blues, but it still felt pretty good. He wouldn't tell that to his brother, instead cockily grinning and pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.

“I know.”

It was apparent to all of them that Rock loved the idea instantly, Blues smirking at his ability to make the younger boy this happy. Roll was actually interested in the idea as well, a race did sound like a ton of fun. Plus she could use all of her markers, she had recently gotten some sparkly ones that would make an awesome race car.

Roll, Blues, and Rock asked Dr. Light to take them to the arts and craft store to get supplies so they could make their cars. It was a rare weekend that he could spend at home, and he seemed to materialize energy out of thin air to entertain his children. The elderly man happily said he would be honored to help Mega Man and his friends build their race cars.

X waved them off, busy studying at the kitchen table while the interaction between his family members was happening. It was a relief they came up with this idea on their father’s day off so X wouldn’t have to watch over them. His last exam was less of a blood bath than the first, but he still felt like he was stupid. He sighed into his textbook, praying that by some miracle the pages would eventually make perfect sense and everything would become obvious to him in time for finals.

At the store, Rock was invested in Mega Man’s next adventure. He was going to win the race and then use the prize money to throw a huge party for his friends and family. Roll said there wasn’t any prize for winning, but Rock said it was pretend. Blues nodded at that, though he pulled aside their father to ask if maybe they could make a false prize for Rock and Roll. Their father frowned in thought, saying he would try to come up with something.

"Maybe a new toy?"

"Then it would have to be separate prizes for Rock and Roll..."

"I'd be happy with anything. Get something Rock would like, it'll make it better once I win." Roll cut in, overhearing the conversation. Dr. Light smiled at her, placing a hand on her hair and ruffling it lightly. She winked at Blues, letting him know that everything was fine. Roll walked off after, examining the aisles to find items that would be useful in building her racecar.

She looked at the different boxes with eyes wide in curiosity, glancing around and seeing Cut Man with his father. He was a lanky man that looked remarkably like a tall bug. They called him Boomerang Kuwanger as a joke, partially because they could never remember his real name. The Boomerang part had been lost with time, something that had to do with an incident where Cut Man was pulling a boomerang out of his father’s car’s glove compartment to show his friends. It was so bizarre, the randomness making Rock laugh way harder than he should have.

Oddly enough, they couldn’t remember Cut Man’s real name either. He was simply Cut Man all the time at this point. When the scissor-using boy saw Rock, he promptly grabbed a pair of scissors from a shelf and said he was ready to face Mega Man any time for a rematch.

“Good, cause we’re having a race! Build a car so we can battle that way!”

Cut Man’s eyes went wide at the idea, looking at his father in excitement. Boomerang Kuwanger sighed, looking over at Dr. Light.

“I take it they forced you to come down here on your day off, too?”

“It’s never a dull moment.” Dr. Light’s booming laugh seemed to fill up the room, his large stomach shaking from the gesture. He gripped Rock and Roll affectionately, Blues having wandered off somewhere in search of his own supplies.

Once back at home, Cut Man joined Rock, Roll, and Blues as they built their cars in the front yard. There was a mess of art supplies, cardboard, and random household objects that could be used for who knew what purpose struck the children’s fancy. Rock came up with a brilliant idea that had him running up to his room, rushing back out with all of his toy cars, anything else with wheels, and duct tape in his arms.

After securing the ‘wheels’ for his car, Rock called over Rush so he could tie a rope to the dog’s collar. Rush didn’t seem to mind being involved, wagging his tail at the attention the humans were giving him. He was panting while Roll called him the baby and rubbed his sides, Rock telling her not to call their dog that because he was a loyal companion in the battlefield. 

Once all the cars were completed, the group lined themselves up. Rock looked over at Roll, wanting to taunt her but she beat him to it.

“When you topple over and start crying, I’m not helping you clean up.”

All he could do was stick his tongue out at her, internally firing up. He had to win now.

Dr. Light was already gone, back in his office taking care of his work. X said he would only come out at the end when they announced the winner. What would start the race was a timer Roll set on the oven that would set off a beep in a few minutes. When it was heard echoing through the kitchen, everyone dashed off.

Mega Man’s dog was off after Rock threw a biscuit with all of his strength. Rush was the type of dog that liked to keep running once he started, even after he picked up the treat he was still dashing across the street. Rock was screaming in delight at how fast his car could go, Blues and Cut Man yelling after him.

“That’s cheating, Mega Man!!! Hey!!”

Roll could only laugh as she tried to keep up with them, watching as Blues’s sunglasses fell off while he stumbled to close the gap between himself and Rock. She figured she wouldn't be able to beat any of them, but she didn’t regret joining in this game. Internally, she thought it was nicer to be included even though she was embarrassed. She stopped to pick up her brother’s trademark shades, he would be upset if they got broken.

Roll cleaned the frames with the sleeve of her dress, looking back up to see Rock was almost at the Wily’s house. She bit at her free sleeve, hoping her brother would be alright but releasing a breath of relief when she saw the friendly older brother was there instead of the mean old man.

Sitting outside in swim trunks and reading a book was Zero, he was working on his tan while Bass played in their front yard. They had a pool in the back, but since Bass wanted to play on the streets with his hot wheels, the elder brother met him halfway by moving his beach chair so he could keep an eye on him. He had an old fashioned on a table that he took a drink from, Sundays were the best for this type of vibe. He needed to hit Terra up for the best weed spot later, but booze would do nicely in the meantime.

When he saw Bass about to stomp on one of his toy cars, he sat upright.

“I saw that. I’m not buying you more if you break another one.”

Bass froze in his tracks, muttering that Zero was no fun as he stopped his destructive path. He wasn’t screaming, the other never raised his voice at Bass but he could still be threatening when he wanted to. His eyes were narrowed in a glare, smirking as though he was daring Bass to make another move.

“Sorry…”

“Thank you.”

Zero returned to his previous position, but didn’t reopen his reading material. The warmth was nice, and he found himself closing his eyes to daydream. He needed to go to the beach again...

Looking down the street, Bass realized he could hear yelling approaching him.

There was Rush sprinting with a screaming Rock, the boy yelling how he was going to win for sure. Rush was barking when he spotted Treble, the other dog bolting up from his napping position next to Zero to go chase the other dog.

Zero didn’t move from his spot even when Bass and Treble were running after Rock and Rush. As long as they were within hearing distance, it should be fine. He took another sip from his drink, enjoying the pleasant buzz he had.

“Treble!! Stop!!! Rock, call off your dog!”

“He won’t stop!!!”

Rock was smiling, having the time of his life. It seemed Rush was running even faster now that Treble was chasing after him, not at all worried about his box car potentially falling over.

Eventually the dogs stopped to sniff at each other, Treble biting at Rush’s ear to start a play fight. Somewhere along the line the rope tied to Rush got loose, and the dogs started to wrestle on the street. Rock was still laughing, looking around to see how much of a lead he had on his friends.

His attention was stolen away by Bass pulling him by the collar of his shirt. He was lifted from the box, it fell over on the ground and some of the toy cars attached to the bottom sprayed across the street.

“What kind of stupid game is this? I was busy!”

“Busy with what, playing by yourself? You can join us if you want! All you need is a box, I bet you could put your hot wheels on the bottom of it and tie up Treble like I did with Rush! It’s fun!!”

Bass chose to let the remark about him being alone slide, too frustrated to argue with the boy.

“God, you’re such a kid…”

“I am a kid, so are you!”

“Tch…”

Bass was crossing his arms, his eyes closed while his face was scrunched up in annoyance. He wanted nothing more than to beat the shorter boy into the pavement, but his brother was no doubt watching carefully. Rock looked over, tone deaf to the fact that Zero was half asleep and not watching the volume of his voice.

“Hi Zero!!”

The elder Wily brother opened his eyes, realizing from the blurriness he was partially drunk. He was grateful the youngest Light brother’s presence was sobering. He sat up slowly, crossing his legs to sit in a yoga pose on the beach chair while he looked between his brother and the neighbor kid.

“Hey there. Why not play with your friend, Bass. I bet he’d love to see all the hot wheels you have.”

Bass looked at his brother indignantly, the idea of showing anything to his classmate making him disgusted. Instead of responding to his brother, the raven haired boy turned on his heel to glare at Rock.

“I’m not playing with you, not now or ever. Treble! Let’s go!”

The dog responded to his owner, slowly leaving his play time with Rush to return to Bass. Rush walked over to Rock, wagging his tail then licking the boy . He went overboard since Rock was covered in sweat from all the excitement, the boy laughing at his dog to cut it out.

Before Zero could pick up his book, he noticed the dog had wandered over to him and was sniffing curiously at his leg. He couldn’t resist putting a hand forward to let the large animal get a better idea of his smell, happy he was deemed not to be a threat and allowing Zero to scratch behind his ear.

Somewhere across the street, X had caught up to Blues, Roll and Cut Man. The group had been watching the entire exchange, Rock waving them over to come and let him gloat that he won.

While the rest of the group ran over, X stayed exactly where he was, frozen in place. All he could do was awkwardly wave back when the almost naked man waved at him in greeting.

It was pointless to have thrown away his pictures when the real thing was scarred into his memory now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> commander yammark and boomerwang kuwanger are that cute old gay couple who adopt cut man. i bet they had those super fancy strollers and spoil the shit out of him with toys and healthy snacks...god i hope that's me one day. I love how proto man is so popular in universe, in mega man battle and chase there are stores that brag about being proto man's favorite, as he deserves since he is the coolest. i will try my best to carry that over as well. 
> 
> mmmm i love mega man battle and chase. it's like the sonic riders for mega man, it takes a while to get used to the weird controls but it's so fun once you get it. and obviously there's a lot of chasing in this chapter, tho not very much battling...
> 
> y'all are so nice :x thanks again for being so sweet to my silly ideas, in this fic and with the others. i can't stand looking at mhr anymore but the newer comments are so nice aaaaaa


	5. Mega Man: The Power Fighters

“Thank you again, X. I really think I’ll do better on this exam, and tell that supervisor to get off his lazy ass and get you the right name tag.”

“It’s fine, I’m not worried. Take care, and remember to practice!”

X waved off the large man he had been helping with his chemistry homework. He still hadn’t gotten a new nametag, instead borrowing one from a coworker and laughing when students would simply call him whatever was written on the index card sized piece of plastic. It was entertaining solely to himself to be called ‘Robert’ when it was not even remotely close to his real name. Probably because it was still better than being called Xavier, plus Robert almost sounded like Robocop. It was double fun when Rock was around and his brother would make everyone call him Robocop. 

The eldest Light brother spent time with a lot of different people at this job, including helping the giant gay man that Rock referred to as Blizzard Buffalo because he always wore a fuzzy sweater and he was hairier than the average man. X told him that wasn’t very nice, but couldn’t help agreeing that Rock’s name was appropriate. The nice man would prefer X’s help with his work over their other tutors, taking a shine to the young man immediately. X took it in good nature, helping him and ignoring the comments about how adorable he was. 

He was an interesting character and listening to his stories about the old community made it worth talking to the older man, much more educational than the history lesson he was given back in grade school. Plus he’d take the older man calling him his boyfriend any day over the group of 19 year old girls that would frequent him asking for help with statistics. 

All in all, it felt good to help and his bruised ego appreciated being reminded that he wasn’t a complete idiot. X looked around the large room, spotting his longtime friend walking inside with his sister and Kalinka. 

The members of the Cossack family had picked up Roll for X today since he was working late and Blues wasn’t able to. He ended up having to take make-up exams after school for missing a few during his ditching streak, X covering for him so Dr. Light wouldn’t be disappointed upon the news. 

Axl brought the girls over to a spare table near X, not enough to be a distraction but they did wave at him once he was free. X walked over, carrying extra expo markers for the girls so they could draw on the moveable whiteboards. 

“So, have a good dance class?”

Roll looked up at her brother with a frown, still unsure of how to describe her class. It wasn’t bad, but not one of her best days. 

“It was alright, I got partnered up with Splash but she’s so awful at dancing...it’s like she doesn’t know how to use her legs.”

“That’s not very nice.” X held an expression meant to convey his disapproval at his sister, but it was half hearted. Roll could ignore the sentiment and the statement while she pulled out her workbook. 

Kalinka watched the whole exchange, distracted by the markers X had left on the table. It would be much more fun to draw than to do her homework like Roll was. Axl noticed, putting a hand on her head and reminding her they came here to study. 

Before X could talk to Axl, another student appeared from behind.

“Um, sorry...just one more quick thing, I promise!”

X smiled reassuringly at the teenager, one of those students who went straight to a community college after high school. He was a good kid, X didn’t mind helping him out ever. 

“Of course, no problem, Middy. Let’s go grab a white board and I’ll be right with you.”

The group watched as X got busy once more, it wasn’t so bad that he was running around but he was being pulled between a few tables. It was becoming clear Axl wouldn’t get to dick around with his friend today, making him slightly disappointed. He had also been hoping to play with the markers...

Roll looked around the area, she had only gotten through a page of her workbook before feeling antsy.

“Hey Axl? If my brother asks where I am, tell him I went to go get some snacks from the student store.”

“Ok, did you want me to tag along?”

“It’s fine, it’s only a building over! I’ll be ok.”

Really, she was getting up so she could walk around the community college to get some fresh air before returning to her work. That day of school had been a long one, she noticed Rock in the hallway with his usual gang of friends. Blues hadn’t stopped by at recess, he seemed to be attending school with record frequency the past couple of weeks thanks to X’s intervention. 

It seemed as though all of her brothers were looking out for everyone else. Perhaps she focused on herself too much, but X said she shouldn’t worry so much. There was no need to compare what she did to anyone else, especially when she was already a huge help around the house.

She didn’t necessarily cook and clean to be helpful, though. She just couldn’t function if their home wasn’t a certain way. She was like that with all of her belongings, there were a handful of times her brothers would walk in on her reorganizing her toys for the 10th time that month. Roll felt like clutter was nerve wracking, if everything was in the proper place then she could focus. 

Also X would be able to study better, he seemed to be struggling a lot more as he got closer to the end of this semester. She felt bad asking him how his classes were going, not wanting to point out she could tell he was lying when he said he was having fun. Watching how her siblings dealt with the respective struggles, and her father seeming to get more exhausted the scattered times she would see him..

Roll felt she was doing the bare minimum by helping with the areas of the home that were overlooked. She would be 9 soon, old enough to pull her weight in the family. That was around the same age Rock started thinking about Mega Man, now that she was thinking it over. Or was it 10? She couldn’t remember the details, Mega Man was such a staple of their life that it was odd remembering the days he wasn’t there. She would never forget his first adventure, Rock walking into their father’s office and asking him to make him into a fighting robot. Dr. Light agreed, his creativity seeming to be a shared trait in the family. 

When Mega Man walked out triumphantly, telling Roll he would take care of her and protect everyone, she didn’t know what to make of it. It was afterwards when he was playing in the backyard with Elec Man that she looked at him with new eyes. He was a cool boy from a grade above, announcing that he was happy to be a part of Mega Man’s adventures. He was Rock’s first friend, Roll had to smile at that. 

He finally could play with other kids without getting scared, and it seemed Elec Man loved the game. Mega Man’s adventures grew outward from there, the band of six Robot Masters agreeing they were all ‘Dr. Light creations’, to which the elder man was bursting out laughing at the novelty of it all. 

He explained the functionality of their ideas in a way that got the children excited. His articulation of silly concepts helped build that early stage for Mega Man’s world, Cut Man and Bomb Man loving how they were technically useful in helping out humans with everyday tasks. 

Roll loved knowing that Rock was safe in his little world. It was embarrassing, and she did used to really worry about him when he would be seemingly talking to himself. It used to scare their peers and herself, but now most people weren’t bothered by his odd mannerisms. If the world could get over Rock’s oddities, then surely there was a place for herself as well. 

She looked around, spotting different flowers in the grassy hills of the college campus. It was such a sunny place, the campus was located on a hill so there was a slight elevation that isolated it from the rest of the town. She decided to pick some of the plants and make a crown for her brother, he always said he adored her crafts. 

When she came back, she saw X and Axl talking at the table. He paused his sentence to look at her, smiling wickedly. 

“A good 30 minutes to get snacks, huh? You didn’t bring me back anything, either.”

Roll didn’t miss a beat in responding

“I ate it while I was walking around. Look, I made this for you!” 

She held up the flower crown composed of Dame’s Rockets, Sweet peas, and Queen Anne’s Lace. Axl whistled at the craftsmanship, Kalinka also looking at it clearly impressed with Roll’s handiwork. She was very good at what she put her mind to. 

“Damn X, how come I never get fun gifts like that…”

Roll blushed a bit at having all of the table looking at her. She didn’t like being noticed this much, but she pressed forward. She handed the delicate headwear to her brother. 

“I thought you could use this.”

“Aw, thank you. My boss will get a kick out of this.”

X put the crown on, Axl snickering at his friend with a collection of roadside plants on his head. 

“You look so cute, X!”

“X always looks cute! But at least now everyone can tell he’s my prince.” 

One of the girls from the group of teenager’s had walked over to add her own commentary into the mix, X’s face showing his embarrassment. He did his best to hide it, glaring at Axl to keep his mouth shut. 

“T-hanks… need me to look at your stats work again?”

“I just don’t understand these problems…”

X walked over to the table, Axl and Roll watching the way his shoulders seemed to sag as he explained the concepts several times over.

At the end of X’s work day, the Light siblings waved off Axl and Kalinka.

“We have to have a slumber party soon!! I have more flowers at my house and we can braid them into your hair!”

“It’s a plan! Axl, you heard her, right?”

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, we gotta go. Later X!”

“Bye guys!” 

Roll and Kalinka hug while X and Axl fist bump. 

On the motorcycle ride home, Roll is amazed that X managed to keep the flower crown protected by his helmet. 

“How in the world did you ever pull that off…”

“Helmets protect important things. You made this for me, so it’s important. I would never forgive myself if I ruined it by being careless.”

She hugs her brother one last time before jumping off the bike. 

They walk into an empty house together, not knowing where the other Light brothers could be. Blues and Rock were usually home by now, X went to look around outside while Roll set off to clean. There were toys on the floor, meaning Rock had stopped by home at some point after school then decided to go outside. Blues must have gone with him, she had a bad feeling for whatever reason. 

She walked around the rooms a bit longer before finally going up to X to speak with him.

“If you want, we can start making dinner? Or I can clean the living room while you do that…”

“Don’t worry this time, you still need to do your homework. Besides, this relaxes me. I had a long day so I think I’d rather get this out of the way alone.”

He pats her hair reassuringly at the end of his words. She doesn’t say how it’s also relaxing for herself, instead simply agreeing. Judging by the tension in his face, he probably would like to be alone for a bit. 

Thinking to herself as she wandered off to her room, she placed her book bag on her bed and decided to go outside for a brief walk. It would be nice to get lost around the neighborhood and maybe she would be lucky with finding her brothers. Roll tiptoed around X’s work, he was entranced in his podcast playing in the background while he wiped down the table. 

She was outside in no time, following the sidewalk while she got lost in thought. As much as the youngest sibling felt loved by her brothers, she still felt like an outsider in certain regards. Roll liked having her father around the house, before his schedule had him busy at his workplace almost every evening now. Prior to his new project, they would enjoy cleaning and talking to each other. He always said she was the baby, something she hated hearing but knew she couldn’t escape. She had those three strong robot warriors ready to fight for her at a moment’s notice, not everyone was so lucky. And she had her father there to bend an ear when all she wanted was someone to talk to. 

She doesn’t have much longer to ponder her place in their family, jumping up in shock when she heard a voice shouting from the Wily household.

“Why did you need to go on the roof? Why do you have to make me beg you not to kill yourself?”

“Why did YOU hide my paints?”

“I told you already! You lost this time, old man, can’t you just give up?”

“I never lose. You caused a minor setback, but look? It’s nice, isn't it? You’re not angry with me still, are you?”

“It’s ugly! Just like you! God!!!! -----Damn it, why do you need to ruin everything?”

Roll didn’t know how to react to hearing the cool older Wily sibling practically heaving. He was yelling up at his father, the old man looking particularly smug sitting on the roof. She could tell he was smiling by the way his mustache was shaped, somehow unbothered at his child hyperventilating. The old man didn’t seem to be worried about his own safety, either, something that was causing his eldest son a great deal of self control not to tremble over.

“What did you say? You should try to speak clearly.”

Zero stopped responding to his father, he hated arguing whereas his father seemed to enjoy watching his children squirm in frustration. The eldest son refused to play into his game, instead storming off. Zero didn’t see Roll watching him and he fast walked in the opposite direction towards his car. He slammed the door closed once he was inside. As quickly as Roll had witnessed that entire display, the eldest Wily sibling was gone. 

Roll didn’t know why exactly the thought of Zero not being there made her worry increase. She couldn’t place it exactly, but somehow the fortress-like house seemed to become more fear-inducing without the man’s strong presence there to hold off his father’s evil. 

The young girl had to gently bump her head, her thoughts were mirroring her brother’s too closely. It would be fine, but she would keep an eye out in case the old man needed someone to call an ambulance should he trip and fall. Roll could see why Zero was so upset, if Dr. Light did something so reckless after her brothers and herself asked him not to, she would probably also be fairly distraught. 

She hoped everything would be ok later. The youngest Light sibling went past the Wily house, walking further along the street but keeping it within eyesight on her way. 

Roll smiled in relief when she finally found Rock and Blues, not surprisingly playing with Frost Man in his yard. They had gotten out his Spongebob Slushie maker and had buckets of frost to throw at each other. When Rock spotted his sister, he waved her over.

“Roll!! Hey!! Come play with us!!”

He ran over to her with his bucket, hugging his sister in greeting. Roll returned the gesture, glad that Rock couldn’t see the distress she was in.

But Blues did. He dropped the snowball he was about to throw at Frost Man to walk over to his sister.

“Hey, you. X didn’t bore you to tears with his science crap, did he?”

She forced a smile at his joke, neither of them buying it. 

“It’s alright, I just wanted to get some air. Hi Frost Man”

The boy shyly waved at the youngest Light sibling. He blushed slightly at being noticed by her, she was so cute…

Roll was oblivious to the effect she had on her brothers’ friend, looking over at Rock and Blues now that they both realized she was in no mood for playing. 

“Can we walk home together? I don’t feel good…”

“Yeah, of course. Let’s go, Break Man. Roll needs some bodyguards! We’ll pick up where we left off later, Frost Man!”

Frost Man nodded, he was getting cold from handling the frozen toys anyway. Blues and Rock quickly helped him clean up, waving goodbye to their friend and his parents before they returned to Roll’s side.

“Can we go around a bit? I’m nervous...I don’t know why.”

Blues nodded at her, not liking the dejected tone she was using. She didn’t look good. Rock watched her with clear concern, trying to come up with the best plan to help his sister.

“Roll? Did something happen today? Cause if anyone’s bothering you, you know me and Break Man can take care of them in a second, right?”

Blues smirked at his sister and brother in confirmation, but he knew that wasn’t something that Roll usually had to deal with. She was so sickeningly sweet, everyone loved Roll. It had to be something else.

“I-I don’t know. I can’t talk right now very well, I’m sorry.”

At that, Rock understood her perfectly. Blues was still confused, but Rock smiled at him with confidence. Blues let his brother handle this one since he seemed to know what he was doing. The youngest Light brother placed himself closer to his sister.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to! We can wander around as long as you want.”

He grabbed her hand at that, squeezing it lightly. Roll appreciated the gesture, letting Rock guide her along the sidewalk. She felt a bit better, losing track of time as they wandered the perfect loop of the cul-de-sac that was their neighborhood. It could take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour to tour back to their home, depending on the route taken. Rock meant it when he said they would take as long as they needed, they must have passed the same houses twice. 

Amazingly, Rock’s teacher Mr. King had driven past them at some point. Blues and Roll had no way of noticing, but Rock only recognized his car. It wasn’t simply the model and year, the youngest Light brother was also pretty good at memorizing license plates, so he knew for certain it had to be him. It was weird how he seemed to be driving from the Wily house’s direction…

Rock looked over at Blues, clear panic on his face. Without saying anything to his brother or sister, Rock was running to the Wily house. Blues and Roll followed him.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“...”

Rock didn't reply, simply pausing once they reached the fortress to look around.

They stood outside, wandering over by a window. When Rock put a finger to his mouth to signify to the others to keep quiet, Roll and Blues went along with it, curious as to what possessed their brother to snoop on another person’s home. Blues’s eyes went wide in alarm when he started to hear a deep voice, it’s not yelling but the way they’re said makes him shiver.

Rock had a hard time listening, never having known a steady monotone could sound creepier than yelling.

“Bass? I’m going to break the phone.”

Roll felt the same off sensation hearing Dr. Wily’s voice, the one she felt earlier when he spoke that way with Zero. She was gripping Blues’s hand for security, her brother putting an arm around her when he felt her presence. 

“Then do it.”

Then there was a large noise followed shortly after. Based off of Bass crying out that Zero had paid for that, his reply was a bluff. 

Blues’s face was serious, thinking back to all the times Rock tried too hard to befriend the boy. Why he even cared so much when clearly the other only cared about making other people miserable. He had half a mind to walk in and interrupt the old man, but he knew better than that. He wasn’t like X and Rock, he would come up with a plan instead. 

Blues pulled Rock and Roll aside and asked his brother if he knew of a way through their backyard. 

“Yeah, but why? Shouldn’t we wait for Zero and tell him what happened?”

“I don’t have his number, and it looks like Bass doesn’t have it anymore either. Besides, who knows when he gets home. X sometimes doesn’t get back until 10! We don’t have that kind of time. Let’s try to rescue him before then, we’ll figure out the rest later.”

At the word rescue, Rock and Roll’s faces lightened up. Blues really was the best guy in the world, they were looking at their brother with clear admiration. Rock had to say something in a repressed whisper.

“You’re the best, Blues! You’re my hero!”

“Shhhh, keep your voice low. And don’t get so corny, we have a mission to complete. Mega Man and Break Man have to save our ally.”

“Right...hey what’s an ally?”

Blues smiled awkwardly at that, Roll rolling her eyes. They really needed to help Rock read more…

Roll supplied the explanation.

“It’s not quite a friend, but not enemies either. It’s people who team up from time to time but don’t necessarily like each other. Remember how X used to go to that one group in high school, GSA? They were an alliance because the two parties were after a common goal. ”

Rock nodded at that, it was a useful word. Bass was an ally, even though they had never teamed up before. But maybe that could change today. 

They waited until it had been quiet for a little while, then Rock led them over to the window he knew was by the raven haired boy’s room.

Cautiously, Rock knocked on the glass frame. The milliseconds leading up to Bass’s response felt like years for the Light siblings.

Bass looks at the huddled group of children at his window in bewilderment, almost yelling before Blues put a finger to his mouth and made a ‘shh’ sound to signify that they needed to be quiet. 

“Hey...do you wanna come over for the night? We have a ps4, and a ton of snacks. Rock won’t be annoying--”

“I’m not annoying!”

“Anyway, call this a peace offering. The decision is yours to make.”

Bass glared at Blues for a solid minute, Rock and Roll watching in fear. The passing thought of the two boys fighting was shared between the Light siblings, and it looked like Bass was more irritated at their intrusion than grateful. 

He was about to say no, but his head turned over to a corner and his glare softened. Treble was trembling, Rock and the others noticed when they moved to follow Bass’s line of sight.

“...fine...but I’m not playing Mega Man or whatever wimpy shit it is you do.”

“No worries, I’m done being a Mega Man for the day.”

Blues laughed nervously at his own joke, even though Break Man was more of a friend of the Mega Men than a Mega Man proper. Everyone else was dead silent while Bass carefully eased himself out of his home, Treble following suit. 

The dog looked at all of them, his eyes clearly still rattled with fear. Roll walked over to place her hands on the large animal, rubbing at his face to help calm him as she guided him to their home. Treble warmed up to Roll and Rock easily, most animals loved those two. He wasn't trembling anymore, but was still very unsure of himself as he followed the humans. 

Bass watched the whole display but didn't make a comment until they were all far enough away from his home. 

“S’ only reason I can think of him liking either of you is that you reek of wild animals.”

Rock glared at him, Roll was not someone that deserved to be insulted ever.

“Don’t be mean! We have snacks for him too.”

Blues chuckled, glad that Bass couldn’t bring in his usual fire to start a fight with Rock. He looked at the boy, feeling remorse for his situation. He was still an asshole, but somehow the middle Light sibling couldn't dislike him as strongly as he did before.

“How are you holding up?”

Blues realized his wording was wrong when the raven haired boy was glaring at him. 

“I don’t like your tone. Of course I’m fine, that type of thing doesn’t bother me.”

Blues left him alone at that statement, knowing better than to push the subject. Once they reached the Light home, the Wily son was hesitant to step inside. Roll pushed gently for him to go inside, smiling at him in such a way that he couldn't fight with her. He huffed, relenting as he watched Treble trot inside and make a bee line for Rush. The dogs make erratic, playful movements in greeting before settling into the living room. 

Rock and Blues guide Bass to the kitchen table, letting him sit in the area where Dr. Light would usually go. He was their guest of the day, X not even blinking at Rock telling him they were having an impromptu slumber party.

“Ok, but did you let his parents know?”

Blues cut in before Rock could make himself look guilty.

“Everything’s accounted for, chief. Need me to show you the paperwork to prove it?”

X looked carefully between the two, letting it slide for now. Bass could only watch helplessly, not realizing his face was presenting the gratitude he felt for Blues’s cover. He hated being indebted to anyone, but it was becoming apparent that the middle Light sibling was good at what he did. 

Dinner with the Lights made Bass feel weird. He didn’t remember the last time he had a full table like this, and there was pleasant banter happening between the family. Roll told Blues about the flower crown she made for X, the middle child saying he was sad he missed that. Next time she should take a photo for posterity, X saying Blues must have waited weeks to whip out that vocabulary term. Rock laughed at the snide remark, primarily because the only person who could combat Blues’s sharp tongue was the eldest sibling. 

It just got weirder and weirder watching how the family seemed to be happy with each other. No one was insecure about where they stood. They were comfortable. 

That was something Bass wasn't used to. Being comfortable around people that weren't just his dog or Zero. 

Even odder, Rock and Blues were being nice to him. It was weird since Bass was never exactly friendly to either of them, especially Rock. His classmate he understood was a push over and tried too hard to be friends with everyone for some unknown reason, Blues was a mystery in almost every aspect of his personality. From what Bass learned of him, X was cool. He didn’t mind offering to help the man with the table when the older Light sibling was calling for one of his younger brothers for assistance. X smiled down at him, placing a hand on his head. 

“Oh, you don’t have to! You’re our guest tonight. Besides, they’re not doing anything important right now.”

Bass moved away from the gesture, not liking the way he was being treated like a child. Besides, only Zero was allowed to talk to him in that sickly sweet tone. It felt off hearing it from anyone else. 

“It’s fine...it’ll give me something to do so I don’t have to listen to him babble.”

He gestured to Rock, rolling his eyes. Rock had moved on to talking about what he would do if Mega Man got a new weapon that allowed him to fire punches instead of shots. Blues gave him the idea to get a boxing glove to test out that theory. It was meant as a joke, but Rock loved the idea and ran with it.

“I’ll call it the Mega Glove!!!”

“Perfect for a Mega Geek like you!”

Blues and X can’t help laughing at Bass’s response, it was so silly that it didn’t even come off as an insult. Rock and Bass glared at each other, the raven haired boy smirking at having made the youngest Light brother upset.

It was weird, Bass couldn’t muster up his usual anger toward the boy for being annoying. Actually, if he was being honest...he was almost having fun. X was a great cook, Blues’s stories about the people he met that day were interesting, and Rock wasn’t as much of a dweeb as usual. 

After dinner, Roll was sitting between all the animals in the living room with her DS and the tv on. All her worries were gone, she couldn’t feel bad when there were two dogs sitting on her. When Bass and Rock came over to join her, Treble was wagging his tail as he walked over to sit by his owner. 

Bass patted his head, relieved his dog wasn’t a shaking mess anymore. It made him worried when his usually brave partner in crime would get scared in those situations. Treble licked his hand, then walked back over to his spot on Roll’s leg. Bass watched as his dog got comfortable, feeling a knot in his throat.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this anymore. Mr. King shouldn’t have shown up to tell his father that Bass wasn’t doing well in school, Zero had specifically requested they set up an appointment without the old man present. True, Bass had pissed off the guy earlier that day in class but…

Amazing how shitty things get just because Bass didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut, it felt like walking on eggshells. When his brother was around, there was a protective barrier at home. When he wasn’t, Bass was so pathetic that these brats had to save him.

And yet, he didn’t feel pathetic. 

Actually... this felt kind of nice. 

When they were all going to bed, Bass didn’t mind sharing the room with Blues. The elder boy asked if he needed a small light on or if he wanted anything else to make himself comfortable. Bass didn’t reply right away, simply stating that he didn’t need anything. 

“Suit yourself...X is usually awake until late if you change your mind. Good night.”

Bass didn’t return the sentiments, not feeling like he needed to. The other boy seemed to be getting better at reading his mannerisms, and it didn’t piss Bass off nearly as much as he thought it would. 

For once, the raven haired boy didn’t have any trouble falling asleep.


	6. Mega Man: Powered Up

That morning, Bass wasn’t surprised to find that Blues had left. He heard the shuffling some unknown time frame prior, he was a light sleeper so he sensed that the middle Light sibling had awoken at some unreasonable hour to go off somewhere. He went back to sleep, preferring to get up when the sun was out.

When he did awake fully some time later, it was to the sound of Rock and Roll moving around the house. It was becoming clear he was in alien territory of morning people, he gazed at the ceiling for a while. At least 7 wasn’t the worst hour in the world but he was still growling in annoyance as he got up for the day.

Bass wandered along the hallway. It was odd that the Light father still wasn’t around. Truthfully, he didn’t want to meet Dr. Light just yet since he had been guilty of being rough with Rock on more than a handful of occasions. It was weird though, even Dr. Wily was around the house some of the time.

When he reached the living room, he saw that X had taken care of breakfast. Rock and Roll were sitting at the dining table and had almost finished. X was situated on a stool by the kitchen counter nearby, halfway through a slice of toast while reading over his notes.

The entire bunch greeted him warmly, X letting him know he was welcome to anything in the kitchen. They were still too chummy for his taste, he glared at Rock motioning him over to join them after he had grabbed a plate of eggs and toast.

While they ate together, Rock began talking before Bass could relax.

“You should come play with us! It seemed like you had fun hanging out yesterday.”

“To do what? I told you I’m not doing that Mega garbage.”

“Roll doesn’t always take part either, but you can still come along. It’s more fun than sitting by yourself all day.”

Bass had half a mind to say something using hostile language, but seeing as how X was in the same room he bit his tongue. Rock was walking on thin ice…

The raven haired boy smirked when an idea presented itself. He could fight Rock and maybe more, if it was part of their stupid game. The taller boy would just have to play it off that way. Mega Man fought all those other kids plenty of times in their weird world, he could get his payback for the other’s remarks that way.

Rock didn’t know what to make of the sudden happiness on Bass’s face, viewing it as maybe the boy was warming up to them. He gently prodded at his peer. 

“So?”

“Sure, I’ll go play with Mega Man.”

The Light children looked at the turn around in shock. Rock didn’t expect to hear the other agreeing that quickly, it threw him off guard.

“R-really?”

“Sure, sure, why not. I’ll have to borrow one of your guns, but I’d like to see first hand what makes Mega Man so tough.”

Roll didn’t like the way Bass was grinning at Rock, wanting to interject but X beat her to it. The group turned around when the eldest sibling made his presence known, clearing his throat.

“Hold on, we have a few ground rules before playtime. You may have permission, but you still need to finish up studying before you can go be Mega Men.”

“I’m not a Mega Man!!! I’m not getting involved with that nonsense. I’m just curious, is all...”

Roll narrowed her eyes suspiciously, grateful that X’s responsible side was showing through. She’d keep a lookout on the boy’s behavior when he was playing with Rock.

“That’s all well and good, but did you do your homework?”

Bass glared up at X, knowing he was on the losing end. This type of cycle was one he would go through with Zero, but he didn’t have the luxury of telling the Lights he didn’t know how to do the work he was assigned. It was mortifying to admit to his brother, unthinkable to do so with strangers. It was making him lose his nerve.

“Look, I don’t mind sitting with you all while you do it. The sooner it’s done, the more time you can spend outside. Rocky Road know the drill, right gang?”

Bass glanced over to see Rock equally annoyed with having to follow along while Roll was already getting out her workbook. Without further protest, Bass obeyed.The eldest Light sibling took a seat next to his brother while he pulled out his laptop and notes.

The children set to work while X went back to his own studies. Rock was glad he had taken the time the day before during class to get through his math work, so all he had left was writing. A poem, but those were more boring than difficult. He was slightly distracted at the idea of getting to play with the boy who had been his tormentor the day before during school hours. 

Bass walked over after rushing through his workload. He stayed expressionless when he told the eldest Light sibling that he was done, causing X to raise an eyebrow over the boy’s declaration. It would usually take Rock and his friends much longer, and that wasn’t the face of someone who was relieved to be done with their work.

“Good going, how about I take a look so we can both make sure you get full marks?”

Bass did a double take.

“-w-what?”

Bass had never seen that type of grin on any of the Light family members outside of Blues right before he stood up for Rock.

“Zero doesn’t check your work?”

“He does, but that’s different!”

X guided Bass back to his seat, this time pulling over a chair so he could sit beside him. It was something in his spirit, he had to help out and he could sense there was something off with the way Bass looked afraid of showing his work. 

“Let’s go over it together.”

Bass wasn’t prepared for how carefully X would scan over all his work. And ask Bass why he thought to do certain things, then gently guide him through how to do the problem properly. It was grating on his nerves every time the other would go ‘why’, but seeing as how he would still give him the answer Bass felt he couldn’t hate the older sibling.

There were no insults on his intelligence and there was no irritation in X’s voice when Bass asked if he could repeat himself or rephrase something. It was something that Bass felt guilty asking his brother to do. He was exhausted when he came home and usually would only glance at Bass’s work before deeming it alright. The whole exchange with Dr. Wily the previous night had been because Zero was supposed to speak with Mr. King about how to help Bass pull up his grades, but it seemed fate had other plans.

He knew he had a bad temper. He didn’t know what to do when he got angry, and words would just come out in response sometimes when an insult cut too deeply. The disparaging remark about his family’s future because of his shortcomings was where Bass broke.

When X told Bass he caught on quickly after they finished up, Bass grabbed his workbook back.

“I don’t care what you think.”

The raven haired boy got annoyed when X didn’t react to the comment. 

“You’re free to go have fun now. You’re welcome to come back for lunch if you’d like.”

It had taken him a bit longer because X had spent so much time explaining some of the word problems. By the time Bass was outside, Rock was already almost finished prepping up the ‘stage’ for them to play in. He grinned when he saw the taller boy approaching.

“Check it out! It’s a museum.”

Bass looked at all the toys on display, not understanding why there was an inflatable pool filled with orange and red paper. Rock saw the question on his mind.

“Oh, that’s the lava pit. This is a robot museum.”

The Wily son wanted to vocalize his increasing confusion, but decided he would just start a regular fight if he did. Rock was on another planet when it came to making sense of things around him. Bass was finding himself laughing at it more than being irritated like he had before. Maybe because the math problems that had been tormenting him the night prior didn’t seem so bad anymore.

“Right...lava pit in a robot museum makes perfect sense.”

“Anyway, we have to stop the boss for this area! This was supposed to be a place where civilians could go and look at robots, so we have to take it back from Dr.---”

Rock stopped himself at that, Bass looking at him in puzzlement. Rock knew he couldn’t just go out and say ‘hey your dad is a bad guy’, even after that type of display. It wasn’t his place and it was one thing for Bass to talk about his own family that way. He was an outsider but he would still show that he was on Bass’s side some other way.

“---Mr. King. We’ll just call him King for now, but he’s a bad guy and we gotta take him down!”

Bass bursted out into a laughing fit at that. It was so stupid but Mega Man was creative, he would give him that. He wasn’t as foolish as Bass thought before if he could tell Mr. King was a snake. It surprised him though, seeing as how their teacher seemed to like Rock and treated him nicely. 

“Fine, whatever. I’m not helping you though. I’ll defeat him first!”

“I can get behind this if it’s a race.”

The deep voice from behind made Bass jump, Rock smiling brightly at Blues and Roll appearing. Roll had figured it would be good to have Break Man around in case Bass stopped playing nicely.

“Break Man! You’re gonna fight, too?”

“Of course, but maybe Mega Man and this new guy can take care of things on this side of the museum. I’ll scout what you don’t get to. So, what’s your name, Robot I’ve never met before?”

The group of Light siblings were looking at Bass expectantly. He looked at each face, searching for some semblance of guidance in how these increasingly bizarre world mechanics were supposed to work.

“I’m….I’m….”

It took Bass a while to come up with an idea, so Roll decided to help him out.

“He’s Forte.”

The boys looked at her. Blues spoke first.

“As in the music instruction, ‘forte’?”

Roll smiled wickedly.

“Yeah, cause he’s loud.”

Bass was about to protest, but Rock was clapping his hands and jumping up to his sister.

“Roll!! You’re so smart, it’s perfect! He’s Forte!”

While Rock and Roll hovered around the raven haired boy in excitement over his introduction into the Mega Man world, Blues started to wonder if he was forgetting something.

Seeing the way Bass was turning red from frustration but still playing along, he decided to ignore those feelings. Right now, he wanted to see how they could incorporate ‘Forte’ into their game. It was about time Rock made friends with a new robot master.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several blocks over, only the neighbors could hear the disruption from the bleak, grey house. A door was slammed, the eldest Wily sibling making a mad dash through the streets.

Zero felt like a tremendous sack of shit for having stormed off like that the previous day. He had been so pissed that he spent the brunt of his afternoon over at Terra’s, letting his friend along with Mercury and Nour catch him up on the town gossip so he could ignore his own life’s events.

When it came time for work, he didn’t bother checking in at home since it would cause him to lash out seeing the elderly man’s face again. He was livid after having spent so much time discussing with his father why it was dangerous for him to paint the roof by himself.

The long haired man had come up with the scheme of hiding the paint buckets with Bass’s help, the pair hoping it would prevent their father from his reckless side projects. It didn’t work, it seemed he found their hiding spot and promptly went to gloating in Zero’s face about how stupid his children were to think they could outsmart the old man.

Zero didn’t care about the insults, it was the fact that the old man was beyond reasoning and didn’t seem to listen to his family’s concerns. He could tell by looking at his pupils he was overmedicated, meaning the elderly figure would be entertained by fighting with Zero.

There was no winning and frankly, standing there in broad daylight to yell at the man not to hurt himself was mentally tasking. Once his frustration started to fade, Zero realized how selfish it was to run out like that. He was a coward...and a piece of shit….and the self loathing kept piling on the car ride back home, even when he tried playing music to drown it out.

He hoped Bass was alright. The elder sibling already knew he had a backlog of making up to do to compensate for their father. Their dad was something else, their relationship too complicated to even figure out who was worse. Least, that’s how Zero felt whenever his mind would randomly bring back memories of how he would talk to the frail man. He was an adult, way too old to be losing his head like that from a withered old man.

When Zero did finally arrive back at home that night, it was fairly late so he didn’t make much of the house being quiet. He had a shift that went past midnight, so he wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake. It was when he got up that morning he started to freak out after going to his brother’s room and finding that Bass wasn’t there.

He dashed down the hallway to his father’s office, clear panic in his voice when he asked where his brother was. The elderly man simply replied that he had no idea where the boy could have gone off to, he might’ve taken after his elder sibling and run away. The snide remark enraged Zero further.

“Why didn’t you pay attention!”

“I was busy, and couldn’t the same be said for y---”

“Whatever, I’m leaving.”

Zero ran through the neighborhood in desperation, thinking maybe his brother hadn’t gone too far. He prayed he would find him, fully prepared to tear through the entire city if necessary. He jumped at any sudden movement in the hopes of something related to his younger brother, stopping dead in his tracks when he finally spotted the raven haired boy.

Bass was across the street with that boy he met not too long ago.

They were striking poses, Bass aiming a nerf gun at the shorter boy that Zero was fairly certain was Rock.

“Mega Man TO-Day we finish this!”

Bass was fired off one of the styrofoam ‘bullets’ at Rock, the other boy dodging it dramatically.

“Bass! Why must I fight you! We are not enemies!”

“Shut up! And I’m not Bass anymore, I’m Forte! Remember?”

“Right, sorry!”

Blues and Roll were sitting nearby with Tango, Treble, and Rush. The pair were dying of laughter from the dialogue those two came up with. It was amazing how quickly the once proud boy got immersed in the game after a night with them, the two running around each other and firing their toys as though they had fought countless times before.

Bass was laughing, even after getting hit with a dart. He stumbled over and overreacted as much as possible, dramatically falling onto Treble. He looked over at his dog, saying he must avenge him and kill Mega Man. Rock was struggling to keep down his laughter while he ran over.

“Oh boy, I won! That means I get to copy your ability!”

“You can’t, my buster can’t be mimicked.”

“Why not?”

“Can’t you tell? We have the same nerf gun, stupid. You’d be copying your own shots.”

“Oh… I guess you’re right, then I can’t take your weapon. Oh well, we can always fight again then.”

Zero could only stand there and watch the whole thing, Bass never was one to play with neighbor kids. He walked over to get a better view, causing the group of children to look up at him. Bass had clear fear in his eyes that Zero knew was from the fact that he didn’t want to return home any time soon. He recognized it because, eerily enough, that used to be a similar state of mind he would be in.

Instead, Zero walked over to Roll and asked if he could borrow her broom. She was confused by the gesture, not vocalizing a response when she went to hand it to him. Blues and Roll watched as the man flipped it so he could hold the broom by the base of the brush. He aimed the staff at Rock, putting on his best evil grin.

“You may have defeated Bass, but you’ll never get past my Z-saber.”

At that, Rock was jumping up to grab his nerf gun. Zero was pretty amazing with his acting, he was like another X but something about his movements made Rock think he might’ve been his brother’s match. The idea of anyone being cooler than X was a hard one to imagine but this guy was knocking off his nerf gun darts with just the staff of a broom. That was pretty impressive to the group of children, though there were neighbors walking by and watching with a different look of bewilderment than X would receive. Probably because Zero was much taller.

The eldest Wily brother pretended to lose toward the end, giving his ‘sword’ back to Roll who happily accepted her new role as the swordsman for the Mega Men. He smiled as he watched the Light siblings discuss how Roll’s attacks would work, his attention being drawn back to Bass once the boy gained the courage to walk over.

“I have to go home now, don’t I…”

Zero glared at the younger boy, but it softened immediately when he saw the evident guilt on his face. 

“Well, you shouldn’t have left off like that without calling me first.”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright, but you had me worried. If you need to run away, at least let me know where you are.”

The Light siblings watched how much Bass’s tone changed, interestingly it seemed both parties looked as though they felt awful about how they acted. Zero had knelt down to be eye level with his brother, one of his hands placed on his shoulder.

The elder brother felt like a hypocrite, but he wanted them to be better. He didn’t want to feel like this anymore. Bass was very uneasy as he looked up to face his brother.

“Ok, I promise.”

“Thank you, I promise I’ll do the same.”

Rock walked over with Blues, the pair didn’t mean for this type of reaction to occur with the Wily siblings and it made them feel ashamed. Rock looked up at the taller man, trying his best to gather up his courage to face him directly.

“I’m sorry, we’re partially to blame. We might’ve kidnapped Bass--”

“In your dreams! You couldn’t kidnap me if you tried!”

Blues looked at him incredulously, the other really didn’t know how to keep his mouth from spouting out vile retorts. The middle Light brother looked up at Zero and cleared his throat, feeling it necessary to cut in and offer a better explanation.

“What we’re trying to say is, we asked Bass to come with us. We didn’t think to let you know, so we’re equally at fault.”

Zero nodded at that. His expression was unreadable to the group of boys, making Blues worried he might’ve fucked up. It made him feel even weirder, however, when the taller man was expressing gratitude at them all.

“It’s alright...thank you”

Rock looked up at Zero curiously. He would’ve figured the protective older sibling would have been angrier, X certainly would’ve been much harsher with his word choice. It must have had something to do with those two having to deal with Wily, but he didn’t know how exactly.

“For what?”

Before Zero could give a reply, Rock and Bass’s stomach was making churning sounds that made it clear it was close to lunch time. Blues was laughing, Bass probably was getting spoiled by their family. He could see that he was still thinking about X offering them all to return for lunch. The raven haired boy turned to his brother.

“Is it alright if I go with them for the afternoon?”

“It’s fine but call me if you want to spend the night with anyone, ok?”

Rock looked between them, his face lighting up with an idea. He ran over to grab Bass’s older brother by the hand.

“You should come with us, Zero! X is a great cook and you two should be friends! I wanna see Mega Man X and Zero fight one day!”

Before Zero could say no, he was being dragged by Rock and Bass. Blues shot him a sympathetic gaze, smiling as he watched them all make their way towards the Light house. He would be watching closely to see how this went over with X once they arrived.

Rock pushed the door open, Rush and Treble running forward into the house before anyone else could get in.

“Hey X! We’re back, and we brought more friends!”

“Can you at least tell me ahead of time if you want to bring more people over? I told you, I need more of a---”

X stopped mid sentence when he walked into the living room and saw his youngest brother holding the hand of the tall blonde man.

“....warning….”

It gave him a mild heart attack when he could register that it was Zero in his house. He didn’t mind usually having surprise guests joining them for meals, even though he would prefer a heads up so he could prepare accordingly. That was what he was going to explain to his brother until he found himself suddenly losing his ability to articulate much of anything. Rock had a habit of bringing in old and new friends all the time. It was just difficult when it was the man X was trying not to be in lust with showing up.

Zero saw he was causing things to get weird, trying to come up with the best words to cut through the tension.

“Hi.”

Somehow the simple gesture made X panic even further. He felt the eyes of his siblings boring into him.

“Hi...uh, we’re having ratatouille with spaghetti…I needed comfort food.”

“Sounds great...um….your brother forced me to come… I hope I’m not intruding.”

Rock was laughing nervously at being called out like that, releasing Zero’s hand and looking slightly apologetic. It was painfully awkward. The eldest Light sibling swallowed, trying to force the words out so he didn’t look like a complete idiot.

“No, not at all, it’s fine. He does this all the time, actually.”

X shot a glare directed towards Rock at the end of that statement, the younger brother rubbing a hand behind his head. He distanced himself from the older man, running off with Bass to go add the new scene for Mega Man and Forte’s second major battle. He grabbed the taller boy’s hand, tugging him along while Bass tried to protest.

“Hold up!! I’m hungry...”

“X isn’t done yet! Besides, we gotta go defeat the robot masters! Blues is our operator this time, right? There’s all that evil energy we have to take care of.”

“I’ll get it first and I’ll use it to beat you!”

“That’s bad!”

“No duh, I’m a bad guy!”

Zero grinned while watching them run off, still amazed at the small boy managing to worm his way into Bass’s friend group. Bass didn’t even have a friend group, Mega Man must have been incredible if he could force the raven haired child into his web.

It was also cute when he noticed how much those two looked alike, the eldest Light brother and Rock. It seemed all of the Light boys were incredibly similar, Rock and Blues could almost pass for twins.

Blues smirked looking between the older men, pulling Roll aside.

“I think we should go too…”

“Why? I wanna see what else Zero can do with a broom!”

“I’ll explain it more later, let’s go help out the fighting robots.”

Roll wanted to protest, but Blues was already pulling her along while he smirked.

“Hey Zero, make yourself at home! X here could use the extra help in the kitchen!”

The wide eyed look of panic on X’s face as he watched his family abandon him somehow was missed by Zero. He looked at X devoid of emotion, walking behind the man to the next room.

The silence that followed while X made himself busy with preparing lunch was painful for the eldest Light sibling, but he had no idea where to begin. He was fine making conversation with strangers if he could put up his customer service persona but he couldn’t do that with this guy.

Should he bring up that his brother needed serious help with his academics? That might come off as insulting, but nothing else was coming to mind so X remained mute.

It seemed Zero caught on that the other wasn’t capable of speaking first, chuckling lightly.

“It seems we run in similar circles, Axl certainly thinks the world of you…”

“Oh god...I mean great. Axl’s a good kid.”

“He is. I didn’t realize you were the one who made Vile skip town.”

At that, X let out a small yelp from almost cutting his finger while dicing tomatoes. He wasn’t proud of that moment, it left a bitter taste in his mouth having to resort to violence at all. It was a sore spot, the entire ordeal wasn't a pleasant memory. 

Axl crying out from being ridiculed for trying to learn more about his biological family, the cruel older boy commenting that Axl’s ‘real’ father and his new one were failures. X couldn’t just stand by but if that sort of thing impressed the blonde man, it was slightly disappointing.

“He was an awful person back then. I hope he got his life together at some point…”

“He was, last I heard of him he was finishing up jail time.”

At that, X paused his movements. He didn’t like where this was going, but morbid curiosity reared its head and he had to ask.

“You knew him too?”

“You could say we were fairly acquainted in high school...”

Zero had to laugh at the way a zucchini that had been laying on the counter was sent flying from X jerking his elbow too quickly. X was reeling, the image...he couldn’t picture it. He didn’t want to ever see it or know that it happened. Zero decided he should probably clarify.

“Sorry, I didn't think that would be so shocking. It wasn’t like that, if that’s what you’re worried about. We would fight in the same group sometimes. He was a loser...I wasted way too much time with those people.”

When X had washed off the vegetable and gone back to his preparations, he faced Zero again.

“I’m sorry to hear that…”

Zero noticed that X didn’t sound that sorry. He looked almost relieved, probably because the thought of Zero reforming himself into the man in front of him was admirable. He was used to hearing that from people but there seemed to be more to it based on the other man relaxing.

Least, that was what he was reading into it.

“It’s fine, I got out of that group soon enough and then I got to meet some cool people. He told me you helped tutor with his classes, said you were pretty damn smart.”

“Y-yeah, Axl does the real work, he’s making a lot of progress. Shit, I’m running out of thyme…”

X saw the devilish expression appear on Zero’s face, unprepared for his response.

“Really? I hope I’m not wasting it.”

The blonde laughed when he got the desired reaction of the shorter man groaning.

“I should kick you out of my kitchen for that.”

Zero snickered at the way he got X to glare at him. It was nicer having him comfortable, he hated that awkward ‘too polite’ phase they had been in.

“Well, since I’m an intruder, is there anything I can help with?”

“You can cook?”

Zero smirked at the way X was looking at him. He loved disappointing people’s expectations.

“Not at all, but I know my way around with a knife.”

X didn’t look at him disapprovingly, appreciative of help regardless of the skill level. He gestured to show that Zero was welcome to come into his personal bubble. He tried not to bump into the other man too much, apologizing when they brushed arms. Zero cut up the remaining vegetables needed for the dish, watching as X went through each step.

As the other man’s presence became less alien, it wasn’t as uncomfortable as before having Zero hovering around. He was used to being observed so intently at work, Zero walked to watch him from over the shoulder in a similar way that Alia would. Before he had to ask, the taller man was passing him the basil. 

“You really didn’t need my help.”

“No, but we make a good team.”

“We do, don’t we…”

X was relaxing. He didn’t need to be afraid of Zero, he had a voice that X was finding himself becoming more comfortable with. Pictures really didn’t do the real life person justice. Feeling his confidence for the first time while being around the other man, X enjoyed not being clouded with anxiety when it seemed his classes would put him in a constant state of panic.

“You’re not half bad, you could’ve easily lied and gotten away with it. Your brother’s pretty good at fibbing.”

Zero grinned in response, walking over to sit on a stool by the counter. He watched X stir, hearing dimly from the hallway Bass and Rock’s voices at varying levels of excitement. Blues might have said something about them being stupid to fight each other when there was a boss they could’ve taken down together.

He laughed a bit, this was nice. Bass had made friends with good people. Zero looked over as X went to strain the finished noodles in the sink, leaning over the counter.

“That does look really good, I should be bugging you for comfort food more often. I can kind of cook but I hated doing it. My dad would come home some days and look at me, no ‘hello’ or anything, then sit down and say ‘What are you going to feed me?’.”

X turned around at that. He saw the way Zero was dissociating himself from the emotions those memories could invoke.

“A-and you would do it?”

“Yeah...I tried too hard back then, heh heh heh.”

The idea of a younger Zero running around trying to make Dr. Wily happy had X silently cursing at his father’s former colleague. Even if Zero was presently laughing, acting as though it happened to a completely different person.

It wasn’t a pretty picture to think about the man causing any kind of stress to his child when he was too young to fight back. It was also hard to envision a weaker Zero, the current version seemed to be a stubborn figure against the old man. Roll had later told X about the exchange between the family members in the early morning, before Bass awoke.

“I’m sorry, I can’t even imagine what that would’ve been like.”

“It’s alright, I think I found the right balance with him at this stage of my life. I’m glad I could help, it’s fun cooking with you.”

“You don’t have to lie....”

“No, I mean it. Your brother told me to be your friend, but I think that would’ve happened without his orders. I’m not going to fight you, though, unless you really want me to.”

Zero smirked at him and X could feel himself floating away.

He was trying to push away the fantasy of it all, but his imagination had a way of running off much as his other family members would.

What if they had their own home one day. With his own kitchen. With his handsome partner. And they had a dog, a cat, and a bird. And a game room for whenever Rock, Roll, and Blues came over. Axl could spend the night when he was out on one of his benders. And the house rules were Zero was only allowed to wear those swim trunks when they were alone…

“MEGA MAN X!!! COME HELP ME STOP BASS, I NEED YOU!”

X smiled pleasantly at the sound of Blues’s voice. 

“Zero, could you stir this for me while I go fight crime?”

“Sure, anything to help a hero. Just go easy on Bass, we’re more delicate than we look.”

X tried not to blush at the wink Zero sent his way, running over to his brother. He stood there for a moment to take in the scene, watching Blues and Bass wrestling on the floor. Roll and Rock weren’t worried, their laughter made it clear it was play.

“Break Man! You can win, I believe in you!”

“I’m killing you after him, Mega Geek!”

The breathless way Bass wheezed that out while Blues held him in a headlock made Rock laugh harder. Maybe he should have let Break Man take care of Forte without him, though he worried about Blues tiring himself out from all the excitement today.

It seemed his brother knew his limits, he was feigning boredom when he let Bass go.

“Whatever, it’s not like you can beat Mega Man anyway.”

“And why’s that?”

Bass was glaring up at him. He’d beaten Rock plenty of times, though none when Blues was around. He wondered if potentially their play fight was payback for that, the other had one hell of a grip.

“Because you fight only for yourself. Mega Man fights to protect others. Until you have something you want to fight for, something that isn’t so selfish… Only when you’ve fought for the sake of someone else, then you’ll know what strength really is.”

The boys and Roll could only stare at Blues in awe. Zero walked over casually, whistling while he stood next to X.

“That was some profound shit, man…”

“Language!!!”

“F--Sh---s-Sorry!!”

Zero was flustered by the little girl glaring at him.

“Swordsmen are supposed to be honorable, right? You gave me a sword, so we’re friends now! And Dr. Light would tell all my friends we don’t need to talk that way.”

Zero looked at her seriously. X watched the whole thing, smiling at how Zero bent on a knee to apologize formally to the small lady.

“We’re more than that, we’re comrades in arms. I’ll remember what you told me and I’ll be more respectful of it next time.”

“See, Rock? I didn’t need to come up with a new name to be a part of the fight!”

Roll walked over to her brother, holding up her broom triumphantly. She now had that validation from Zero being allowed to simply be ‘Zero’ in Mega Man’s world. She set to work sweeping, telling the boys that they had to be careful with her now since she had her own R-Saber.

Cleaning up the dining room and setting the table took no time at all with Mega Man and his friends working on it. Zero was impressed with how little X had to ask of his family members, it seemed everyone was ready to do their fair share without much prompting. Bass was even asking how he could be of assistance, something that Zero couldn’t believe he was hearing.

When they were sitting down to eat, X was surprised at how easy it had been to talk to Zero about anything. Once they got over that awkward hurdle, of course, it seemed Rock pulling the Wilys into their home wasn’t as awful as it made X feel initially. He wasn’t just a model that X used to dreamily stare at. 

He noticed that Blues seemed to have an easier time starting conversation with the older boy, unsurprising seeing as how his younger brother was someone that hung out with Terra’s group. 

“My thing is, if I pass then it shouldn’t matter. I’ve spoken to the principal about it loads of times, but Dr. Doppler says we all have to take orders from somebody and he has to listen to the district orders. The fact that there’s a financial incentive just to have my body physically there is evil.”

“Administrators gotta eat, but I can see where you’re coming from. I definitely don’t miss Trigonometry, but I wasn’t half as smart as you. I’m pretty sure the only reason I passed was because the teacher had a crush on me.”

X didn’t mean to cut in, the knee jerk reaction coming out without him realizing it.

“That’s not surprising…”

He was covering his mouth with his hands while Zero and Blues laughed at him. Rock and Bass looked around in confusion, not understanding what was happening in the exchange. When they looked to Roll for an explanation, she shot them an expression meant to convey they were idiots.

When Zero went up to leave with Bass, he was smiling at X.

“It’s been fun, maybe next time we can hang out without the kids.”

“Y-yeah, definitely!”

While X waved them off, he was oblivious to Blues, Roll, and Rock walking over to glare at him. When he noticed his siblings’ presence, he glanced down.

“What?”

“I saw that.” Rock spoke out first, Blues chuckling.

“Saw what?”

“Don’t give me that, go to your room young man! That’s Zero, so what if he’s a warrior with a cool blade? It’s your destiny to defeat him.”

Roll interjected, smiling at Rock.

“He might not be a real bad guy, though! He gave me his sword and he said we’re comrades, remember?”

Rock looked at her, he had almost forgotten that part and it caused him to put a hand to his chin in thought. His eyebrows furrowed, what did that make Zero? He was one of those robots they couldn’t deny belonged to Wily but he wasn’t a bad guy. He wasn’t even a rival like Forte or a mysterious stranger like Break Man. They couldn’t just rewrite him to be one of the Cossack bunch, either, that narrative had taken weeks of careful world building with Kalinka’s many cousins.

While his siblings talked among themselves to figure out what exactly was the future supposed to be like if Zero might not be an outright villain, X could only look down in embarrassment. Rock was right about one thing for sure, X didn’t have time to think about anything outside of the quiz he had tomorrow.

He grabbed an extra helping of noodles to deal with the dread in the pit of his stomach as he went back to focusing on his notes.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That weekend was filled with Bass and Rock perfecting Forte’s role in the Mega Man universe. It was mutually agreed upon that they weren’t friends, both in game and outside. Rock wouldn’t push his luck, not wanting to point out that if they weren’t friends then why would Bass even be playing with him.

On Sunday evening, Bass made a large effort to explain to Rock not to make it too obvious that they had been hanging out. He had a reputation to uphold, he couldn’t be shown as a softie when he had to be the strongest kid in their school.

Rock didn’t say anything, simply nodding. He didn’t want to argue with the boy even though they already had neighbor kids staring at them in confusion on multiple occasions. Bass had been laughing and having fun with Rock in broad daylight since Saturday morning.

The evil robot was stronger than robot masters, seeing as how he was created specifically to thwart Mega Man. He was capable of rapid fire since his own nerf gun seemed to be better at shooting multiple darts than Rock’s. Actually, Rock had learned fairly quick that Bass had a lot of nicer toys than himself.

When he commented on how great his selection of ‘weapons’ was, Bass seemed to swell with pride and state it was all his brother’s doing. If it weren’t for Zero, he would only have Treble to play with. Rock felt weird seeing that type of tone in another person, he figured that had to be how he sounded talking about Blues or X. It was slightly embarrassing, but it made him feel good that he could see this side of Bass. They were making progress.

“You’re really close to him.”

“Of course, he’s my only friend.”

Rock tried not to show that those words stung, immediately regretting that he had fooled himself into thinking they were getting somewhere. Bass looked at him carefully, not used to disappointment when he would say something so curtly. He refused to feel guilty about blurting out the careless phrasing, instead handing one of his guns to Rock to distract him.

“Here, take this.”

It worked, Rock was wide eyed at the gesture. The gun had to be brand new and Rock was sure he must have been hearing Bass wrong.

“What?”

“Your current weapon sucks, take this. It’s a Mega Buster. Now it can charge up shots to make it stronger.”

It didn’t actually, the toy was just capable of holding 3 different sized ammo. Rock had been admiring that one in particular for a while. Bass didn’t know what prompted the words to come out of his mouth, these ones being a stark contrast to the way he rudely dismissed the shorter boy a second ago.

“I broke one of yours before, remember? Now we’re even!”

Before his reasoning could catch up, the way Rock was looking at him in shock made him push the toy into the shorter boy’s hands in irritation.

“I have a bunch more that are way better, just take it already! And don’t go telling anyone about this! Let’s go, Treble.”

At the sound of his name, the dog walked over. He seemed to prance a bit when he moved, less goofy than Rush’s hobbling. He was wagging his tail, looking at the humans with full attention.

The dog’s presence was welcomed since it helped change the subject, Bass going over to pet his dog. He could tell Rock was still getting jumbled up with overthinking, and it was annoying the raven haired child. He sighed heavily, trying to think what he could do to get the other off his back.

“Nothing personal, I just don’t like talking about myself or Zero. It’s more fun thinking about how much I owned you yesterday, you’re awful at dodging.”

Rock was getting better at not taking Bass’s words personally, fighting seemed to be what he enjoyed the most. It was better to use Mega Man’s world as an outlet. It seemed the taller boy would agree internally, but saying the words outright was beyond his capabilities.

“Sure. Whatever you say, Bass. I bet Break Man would tell a different story.”

The taller boy stuck his tongue out at him. He’d get his revenge on Blues one day. Bass walked inside his home with his dog afterwards, slamming the door behind him. Rock jumped a bit at the aggressiveness, how a child could muster up that much strength was astounding. He laughed a bit when he could hear Zero’s voice in a much gentler tone asking Bass to be more careful, Bass just barely audible enough to make out the diminished ‘sorry’.

Forte was an appropriate name, his voice carried throughout the Light house as well as outside in the open air. The way he would bang on toys or smash the forts Rock built for the ‘levels’ was equally at higher volumes than Rock or Blues ever caused.

Rock was sure he would deal with this on Monday once Bass realized he wasn’t exactly discrete. Somehow he wasn’t worried about the repercussions, seeing that Zero had an ulterior motive now to be in Rock’s good graces. He had a feeling there might be more invitations to play with each other based on how the long haired man was staring at his brother the entire time they were eating the other day.

The Wily Robots weren’t very good at being bad guys, but they made for fun new allies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> very long chapter, but it's loaded from the previous one having a cliff hanger. 
> 
> maverick hunter x really had me curious about the weird history Vile and Zero would have with how offended Vile is at seeing him side with X in the opening cutscene. Vile will not actually appear in this story, I just like mentioning him as the resident asshole.


	7. Mega Man Legends

The raven haired youngest brother put on his usual expressionless state, refusing to give in to his worry. If he was worried, then Treble would get worried and that wasn’t fair when his dog wasn’t the one who ever broke a rule. Zero stayed calm, saying he would be there as often as he could this week so he would never be alone for long. The boy didn’t blame Treble for running off to his brother’s room to spend the night with him, if he had the option he would do the same. 

But he was too old to sleep in his brother’s bedroom… 

Just as he was too old to hide in his shadow.

Being honest with himself, that was the deciding factor on running off that night. He knew where Zero had gone, but was ashamed to admit he wanted help. The Lights took away that hurdle by showing up on his windowsill.

Oddly enough, having Blues’s company was comforting for that reason. The older boy was too young to be compared to Zero, but his presence held a mysterious feeling the younger boy couldn’t quite place. He’d never had his ass kicked before nor had he ever been in a fight where the person he was facing took great care not to inflict pain. ‘Civilized combat’ was what Blues called it, Rock saying the taller boy should follow his brother for better methods of dealing with his anger. 

He learned more than he ever wanted to. The weekend ended too quickly. That family made him laugh; they hadn't kidnapped him. They might have just saved his life. 

He stared down between his father’s office and Zero’s room. There was a fork in the road. Be brave or run to safety. Confront a monster alone or awaken the hard working man just to hold his hand. He refused to be a coward, he would face his enemy head on. Like...no, he wasn’t that pathetic he would recycle coping mechanisms from that annoying boy. Still, he puffed out his chest the same way he would when approaching the Blue Bomber.

It was hard for Bass to tell what kind of mood his father would be in when it came time for punishments. He was grateful it was one of his more passive ones, it was mostly being ignored for a few days before returning back to normal. 

It was fine for his son, it was easier returning to their steady state when his father was being quiet. That meant Bass didn’t need to feel guilty about leaving him alone, he would always say he didn’t need anyone’s help. Zero promptly got his brother a new phone, telling him to keep it on high volume on the off chance something happened. To alleviate his brother’s concerns, he kept himself within hollering distance of his home by tricking Mega Man to fight him at the ‘fortress’ level.

Not that a yell could be heard during an intense session of fighting Mega Man. 

The days were easier when he wandered across the street for a brawl. There was just one thing that had to get taken care of before he could fight his eternal rival. Much to the raven haired boy’s annoyance, X was there every time and posing the same simple question. Of course Bass’s answer would be the same, the eldest Light brother was asking as a courtesy more than out of curiosity. 

He begrudgingly followed his orders, growling when X would walk to and fro. He would offer his bag of tricks for math or Blues would ask if he needed help with writing. He accepted it after the third or fourth time, eventually lowering his reservation at the free assistance. It was against his will that his grades took an upward turn as a byproduct, even Mr. King had a hard time complaining at the heel turn. Bass didn’t really care about the future all that much but there was a positive side effect that made it worth listening to X’s lectures. 

His upturn was making Zero happy, which was a huge victory. He let the older man take him out for sundaes the first time he ever brought back an exam with no errors on the page. The elder brother kept asking how they would help or what they were doing so he could also be of better assistance, but Bass deflected by saying he had to keep sharp to beat Mega Man. It wasn’t fair to expect his brother to help when he was barely alive after a long shift from his job. X was almost like a ball of energy, chasing after each member of the family and anyone else that was tagging along in Mega Man’s adventures. 

Zero said it was nice that they wanted to help, but they should find a way to return that kindness. X seemed pleasant but it wasn’t nice to exploit his good will. He didn’t like the idea of them thinking they were getting taken advantage, but Bass told him not to worry about that ever. The Lights cared too much and tried too hard. It pissed him off, but he doubted they had a negative feeling toward anyone. 

Even when they were tired or frustrated, there was no way to get rid of a Light’s watchful eye. There was no opening to be mean with the youngest Light brother, not that Bass was going out of his way anymore. As the days turned to weeks, giving way to months, he could feel the eyes staring at him uneasily from across the street when he went for an increasing stretch of time without beating up someone. And acting less hostile towards the shorter boy.

When Roll and Blues stopped glancing at him every so often during play time, he realized that meant they trusted him. Spending more time with Mega Man meant Bass found himself spending more time with Rock. Mega Man couldn’t be happier with this latest addition, telling Forte that if Break Man felt it was alright not to get involved, then he must be a reliable anti-hero. He was used to making imaginary villains based off of older people who would never take part in the story, but having someone to actually play the role brought new possibilities. 

Bass was a villain’s villain when they needed one, his expression could darken menacingly with ease and spout out vile retorts at a rate that made Rock breathless. He learned an assortment of vulgarities that X had to promptly explain he should never repeat. Blues pointed out when there was a discrepancy between the word’s actual meaning and the way Bass used it. Regardless of what the boy was saying exactly, what sold his role was how he would say it. It even had other Robot Masters fleeing in terror. 

When Bass was confused by how some of the robots teamed up with Rock whereas others were bad guys, Rock tried to explain to the best of his ability. Robot Masters weren’t necessarily evil, they’re robots. That meant they were just reprogrammed or being commanded to do certain tasks. Just like how a toaster can’t be blamed for burning toast, Cut Man shouldn’t be treated like a criminal for cutting too much if he’s been reprogrammed that way.

The Cossack bunch made the agreement that Kalinka had been kidnapped and that was usually their motivator to attack Mega Man. Or they were built to be a certain way, but once they were ‘freed’ from that programming, they didn’t have to stay bad. If they got bored of that and wanted to switch sides, they could simply be ‘reprogrammed’ and vice versa. 

Bass said in his own case, he was programmed to be strong. So that meant he would destroy Mega Man one day, proving he was the strongest robot and then no one would be able to save the world. Rock asked Bass why he would let the world get taken over by villains but the boy brushed away his reasoning. 

“Not everything needs to be explained right away. Your brother keeps it all mysterious, you ever notice how that makes his backstory more interesting? If you give it all away, then what’s left to figure out? What feels better: letting things happen in the moment or overworking your head trying to explain why Splash Woman doesn’t have legs?”

Rock held a hand up to his chin, frowning in thought. He had a point, Break Man was cool and kept his background up in the air. Technically, Mega Man only recently learned they were brothers. The reason the wiser and stronger elder brother couldn’t consistently fight to save the world was because of his system having a bug in it. They hadn’t decided on how to fix it, Blues replying that he couldn’t give away all his secrets just yet. That type of cliffhanger had Rock jumping around, the other Robot Masters of the day equally excited for the day they would learn what was up with Break Man.

Maybe Bass was onto something. Rock could see that he respected his brother, why exactly was beyond his understanding. X said he would one day, Roll said no he wouldn’t. The youngest Light brother said he didn’t care that much, if it meant the taller boy would show up more consistently then that was fine. He would take Bass’s friendship for any reason, even though he still refused to call that.

There were also still reservations among the Robot Masters, many not about to let their guard down with the bully. When it was clear he wasn’t trying to hurt anyone, it took Ice Man offering his snow cone for Bass’s weapon copy ability to break the ice. Bass glared at the small boy for his pun but accepted the weapon regardless. It came off as almost endearing when he was saying these wimps should stand back and let a real android take down Mega Man. No one with any sense would trust him fully, but it was a start. Rock liked that there was something to work with. 

He was a member of the game, but what he was exactly was an anomaly. Not quite a Robot Master but not a full fledged android of the future like X. It was also hard to be afraid of him when he was yelping from his hands getting too cold. Rock started to laugh, when he wasn’t beaten up for it the others realized they could laugh too. 

On a weekend morning, Elec Man, Frost Man, and Mega Man were teaming up to take down Snake Man. The boy was throwing his snake toys, the way they would wiggle out in reaction to being pulled on their string creeped out the others at first but had them in hysterics after a while. 

While Elec Man was occupied with dodging Snake Man’s Search Snake, Frost Man was trying to get his slush machine to work. It was still fairly cold out, but there wasn’t nearly enough slush to make his attacks with. Mega Man had been helping the other boy get the ice to push down, but stopped when he felt someone tugging his collar to get his attention.

He wasn’t surprised that it was Bass aiming his nerf gun at his face. He grinned up at the taller boy.

“You’re late, you could’ve joined Snake Man---”

“I’m not helping someone who doesn’t know how snakes work. Snakes aren’t supposed to have arms, that would make him Lizard Man. Besides, we still have a score to settle.”

Rock was shoved to make distance between the two so they could aim their respective weapons. Mega Man had been making good use of his Mega buster since he had received it, smiling while he placed in the largest ammo. His expression became serious in concentration, he would have to take care of Forte again before he could save his friends. He just hoped Elec Man would be alright until he was done. 

His head went up in alert, shocked out of his story when he heard Roll’s voice yelling out.

“Mega Man! You have to come with me, Dr. Light’s home!”

Rock jumped at that, looking between his sister and Bass. He was torn but his father had been gone for 4 days in a row. He could see that the taller boy was also trying to hide his indecision. Instead he masked it with his aggressive persona.

“Wait, you can’t leave yet!”

The sound of Bass’s voice made Rock pause for a moment. 

“Sorry Bass, but we’ll have to finish this later! Why don’t you come over for dinner?

“B-but!! I can’t do that, you’re enemy territory. If you don’t finish now, then you’re a coward!”

The taller boy yelled after him, watching as Rock ran over to Roll’s side. Rock didn’t catch the desperate way Bass looked after them, hoping his taunts would be enough to get his attention back.

He looked down at the street, watching as the pair got smaller. He awkwardly glanced over to Elec Man, Frost Man, and Snake Man staring at him. Elec Man tried to look like he wasn’t terrified of their group being alone with Bass. 

“Wanna test out your skills on my Thunder Beam?”

He was already turning around to walk away, Elec Man shrugging as he exchanged a look with Snake Man. 

The raven haired boy didn’t know where to go in the meantime, he was hoping to have Rock around so he wouldn’t have to go back inside. He could take Treble for a long walk until Zero came home, his older brother telling him they were going over to Terra’s later for a break from their father. 

In these moments, he regretted not making himself ‘Time Man’ so he could fast forward his life. He froze in disbelief with himself, he was getting too invested with this stupid game. He had been staring at the ground, not realizing his feet had taken him back to his front door. The grey fortress seemed even larger in this moment, the world around it had gone quiet. 

He needed something to take his mind away from the whole thing...

__________________________________________________________________________

After many hugs and kisses, Dr. Light rushed his children outside. He announced he needed X’s assistance and everyone else was to wait on the exterior premises until it was ready. Rock asked if he was getting back item-2 finally, to which everyone made a pained expression. The silence that followed answered his question. He followed behind Roll and Blues with a dejected look.

X couldn’t say no to his father when it was exciting getting to build the project with him. He had been hinting at it for months, it was a welcome distraction from the eldest brother’s school work. This would make the group of children especially happy, it was essentially an ‘item maker’ for Mega Man. What it actually consisted of was a reworked workbench that included an assortment of equipment and a machine that could carbonate drinks. 

His eldest son took over most of the assembly once he caught on to what his father wanted to do. He was pushing the old man aside, telling him to rest in his office while he took care of it from here. The elderly man smiled hollowly.

“My age is showing, isn’t it. I’m sorry you have to do so much, X…”

“You have nothing to apologize for. We’re all old enough, and I’m ok. Honest!”

Neither of them believed X’s denial. Dr. Light stumbled a bit when he hobbled over to the couch, but he was caught before anything serious could happen. He whistled at his son’s reflexes, even more amazed that he wasn’t struggling from holding the old man’s weight. He helped him ease onto the couch, Dr. Light’s eyes crinkling from his smile.

“Thank you, dear. I just….oof. Need to rest for a bit.”

“Take your time. I’ll call the others back in once it’s done. Do you need anything? Water?”

“Water would be fine. Thank you.”

X ran over without further prompts. The voices in his mind yelling that he didn’t have the time to assemble all of this, spend time with his family, and complete his class work for the day would all just have to cancel out and shut up when he was busy assisting his father. School would be a problem for future X, and he’d deal with kicking his own ass later. He patted the hind end of the dog on his way back to the living room, Rush’s tail thumping against the floor at his presence. 

The loyal companion had been allowed to stay since he would only become energetic with Rock. Tango chose to join the children on the porch while they awaited their father’s surprise. She laid herself across Blues’s lap, dozing off as he kept a comforting hand on her lower back. He watched Rock and Roll discuss the modern state of Mega Man, and how these new affected previous concepts.

Roll was playing with her broom, trying to figure out if a saber would be effective against the space robots. Not that the boys would fight her, most Robot Masters and androids would never rough house with the baby of the Light family since she was the youngest and a girl. Still, she could dream. That was getting stale after they lost the Mega Glove, the one weapon that worked 100% of the time.

It made Blues and Rock nervous, especially when their sister almost lost her footing while swinging it over her head. Rock rushed over to help her stay upright, loosely holding the other end of her broom. 

“Hey, be careful with that! Zero was way better with a sword…”

She pulled her saber out of his grip, trying not to vocalize her disdain at being treated this way. She couldn’t say why exactly or how, unsure of how these feelings could even be adequately explained to someone like Rock. Looking over at Blues shrugging, she softened her glare and instead tried to focus on an explanation that would reach them.

“I can get better, too! I need to get stronger, so I can save the world in case Mega Man can’t!”

“Maybe, but you’ll never be stronger than my brother. That means if you ever had to deal with both of us in a fight, none of you would last very long…”

The Light siblings looked over, seeing that the Wily child was approaching them and smirking. 

Bass didn’t particularly care how Rock came up with most of his Mega Man characters, but this was one aspect he found entertaining. True, he considered himself the most powerful android, but Zero was a special case. Just because he gave his sword to Mega Man’s sister didn’t mean she was suddenly capable of stopping them.

Rock was running up to speak directly with Bass, ready to defend his family. He was smiling even though he had to stick up for his siblings.

“That’s not true!! X could beat Zero, if we asked him!”

“Him? I’ll admit, he’s not nearly as much of a wimp as you are but there’s no way he would last against a real fighter. Right, Zero?”

Before the smaller boy could give his reply, Blues tugged at Rock’s collar and pointed. Zero was approaching and his face was lit up with amusement.

“Why do we need to fight? I don’t want to deal with that, I’m not as stable as I used to be.”

None of the boys understood Zero’s meaning, all of them finding the man odd as he laughed at his own inside joke. Bass snorted, his elder brother articulated his response to his brother’s annoyed expression. 

“So this is why you wanted to take this route. Want to invite your friends to tag along?”

Bass rolled his eyes at his brother, turning back to glare at the rival family. He was not liking the tone Zero would use, it was the polar opposite of threatening. 

“I didn’t think they would be out here…”

“I can tell you were hoping. If you’re all up for it, Bass and I were going to head out for a bit to check on Terra. If you can get permission from mom, of course.”

Rock loved the idea but was puzzled at Zero’s phrasing. Roll put the broom down uneasily.

“We don’t have a mom…”

The older man folded his arms over his, Rock recognized he did it to comfort himself. Something about how Roll spoke made him uncomfortable but he hid it well.

“Sorry, I was talking about whoever was in charge. I figured that would be X.”

Blues snickered, he caught it but having that said out loud was funnier. It just so happened that X was opening the door to let his brothers back in, catching the entire exchange. He glared half heartedly at Zero. 

“Why am I being demoted from dad car to mom…”

“No hard feelings, right?”

Zero did his best to look non-threatening, winking at him. It worked, X letting out a sigh before replying to the other man. It was easy sailing talking to him after their previous interaction, though he still felt high strung during side walk greetings. His eyes were glistening in a way that had X not caring about the insult all that much. 

“No, none at all.”

“Great! Do I need to repeat the invitation?”

“That won’t be necessary. I’m sure our father would agree they’re welcome to go, I can pick them up later so they won’t be in your hair for too long. The surprise isn’t ready yet, Rocky. It might take a little while, so go have fun.”

He was standing between Rock and Roll now, each hand on a respective shoulder. Rock only looked slightly disappointed but the prospect of getting to ride with Bass and his brother was exciting. 

“Thanks Zero.” Blues spoke on Rock’s behalf, standing close next to X.

The elder Wily brother was laughing under his breath, looking between the different members of the family.

“It’s no problem. X, you can’t spare a moment later?”

That surprised him, he blinked widely and tried to make sure he heard that right. Why was he so adamant on including him when their brothers were the ones that played Mega Man?

“Me?”

“Bass is going to pass this year. Stop by and hang with me and Terra for a bit, I’ll be providing the entertainment.”

“E-entertainment?”

Zero winked at him. Blues and X looked at Zero with their mouths open. Rock and Bass looked between the older men, not understanding the conversation. Rock tapped Roll’s shoulder, but she shrugged. 

Rock interjected himself before he could get more confused.

“Wait, hold up! Was Bass going to fail? And what entertainment?”

Zero glanced back at Rock, his expression softening. 

“Mr. King was trying to hold him back this year. It was hard negotiating with the principal and Bass that he needed extra help, but not only have his study habits improved; he hasn’t gotten into any fights as of late.”

”We can’t take credit for that. Bass made the decision to listen to me rattle on, he did the real work. Besides, I have work to do.”

”Right...I understand.” 

X looked at him, then back at his brothers. Blues sighed heavily, seeing the earnest display of his brother’s dilemma and Zero honestly trying to get the shorter male’s attention. It would’ve been more pathetic if he didn’t like the Wily brothers.

“X will come. We all will, Rock, Roll, and I are ready to go whenever. X, you can head over in an hour, that should be enough time to finish whatever Dr. Light is making.”

“H-hold on!! You---”

X couldn’t fit a word in when Blues was walking over to speak directly to the taller man.

“You just get the engine running, Zero! I call shotgun!”

“Hey! He’s my brother, I get to sit next to him!”

Blues was already pushing Bass, grabbing Zero’s arms as they walked away. He made a point to keep talking so X couldn’t say anything. 

“We’re your guests, and consider this my payment for helping you with your writing. Zero, let me tell you. This boy is not incompetent, he’s just not focused. I don’t blame him, busy work is the worst to deal with. We’ll be right back, I gotta go speak with our father briefly but you keep the car warm so we can bounce.”

Zero was grinning the whole time, entertained and noting that Bass wasn’t shoving Blues or Rock away when they were both touching him. 

When Blues ran back over to get permission from their father, Rock followed him. He had to vocalize that he wasn’t sure what was going on.

“Blues, are you sure about this? X doesn’t look happy---”

“He’ll be fine, trust me. You’ll understand someday.”

The self assured smile on Blues’s face pushed away any reservations Rock was feeling. 

“Ok...I trust you.”

X was glaring at the pair with his arms crossed when they returned to the front door. 

“I don’t! What the hell was that about?”

Blues grinned at his elder brother. Even more when he saw a large shadow appearing behind him. 

“What? You need a break, too.”

X jolted upright from the deep voice coming behind, his siblings laughing at their father’s choice of words. Dr. Light was smiling warmly at his children, somehow pulling together enough energy to bring himself to the outside porch. Somehow X felt a bit more at ease with his father’s presence. The words that came out of the elderly man’s mouth reminded him why that was.

“You should go with them, even if you don’t complete everything. It’s not good to push yourself too hard. I’m sure the time spent having fun will make the problems less daunting once you come back. Heaven knows I see you indoors too much. I’ll be here waiting for your safe return, all of you. You’ll like what we have waiting for you once you get back.”

Dr. Light laughed at the end of his sentence. Rock smiled at the old man’s presence, he understood what Dr. Light meant. It was how he managed to get through his homework most of the time, it was easier to write responses for his English workbook after getting rid of his nervous energy with Mega Man. The youngest Light brother shared that thought process with his brother.

“Yeah, it’s true. You can’t be afraid of an exam if Mega Man X can face Zero in a fight! I did great on my last vocabulary quiz thanks to Mega Man beating Bass.”

X felt himself smiling at Rock’s addition to the conversation. He exhaled, staving off whatever self doubts he had left to appear strong for his family.

“You’re right, Rock. I’ll have to go fight him after I finish my homework, think you can hold him off until I get there?”

“Of course! Roll will be our operator, and I’ll have Break Man with me. Right, Blues?”

Blues looked between his family members, now his entire family was looking at him expectantly. He had been more occupied with thinking of a way to avoid being drawn into the social gathering after the drive. Truthfully, he would’ve liked it more if he could leave Rock and Roll with Bass while he went over to hear Terra’s ramblings with his gang after a couple of hits. 

It wasn’t working and Rock and Roll were giving him that look. 

“Yeah...we can handle Wily’s creations until you get there. But you better start pulling your weight, Mega Man X.”

“I don’t need to hear that from you. Tell me, who likes to disappear all the time? I think Bass has been helping you avoid most major battles.”

“Anyway...it’s getting pretty cold, you should wear a scarf or something when you come to join us.”

“O-ok, but why a scarf?”

“Trust me. Use the blue one.”

Before X could come up with a response, Blues was running off to get to the Wily house. The middle Light sibling waved at his brother once he was out of speaking ranging, then motioning for Rock and Roll to follow him. They hugged Dr. Light before rushing to their brother’s side. 

X stood there in bewilderment, brought back to his sense once his father patted him on the back. He followed the old man back inside, returning to his side to finish up the machine. It took longer than he would’ve liked, but he didn’t mind having to run around for tools and equipment. He told Dr. Light to rest until they got back, he could take a power nap so he could be prepared for Rock’s second wind of energy. 

Looking over at the clock, X realized he was late by the time frame Blues had set. Maybe he could away with avoiding the whole thing and get some work done. 

His studying materials were in the same place in his room, his hand written notes left open and next to his laptop. He sat down, placing his chin on his hands and finding his mind wandering while he stared blankly at the papers. 

His brother’s words and Zero’s promise for something fun.... He was asked to hang out with Zero and Terra, it was a casual setting. If he were to go, he didn’t need to look good for anyone and it didn’t matter. In a perfect world, Zero wouldn’t even look at him ever and then he wouldn’t get distracted into something outside of his school work.

That was his thought process, though it didn’t stop X from going through his closet to locate the blue scarf his brother had gotten him so long ago. He glanced at the mirror, looking as tense as he felt. 

__________________________________________________________________________

Once the group arrived at the Star Droid café, Rock and Bass were practically jumping out of the car. The shorter boy was prepared and already setting out to let the Star Droids know about the next adventure for Mega Man. Roll ran over to hug Terra, saying she’d happily take her regular then run out to help Mega Man save the Earth. 

“Oh? Roll is fighting, too?”

The long haired man looked between the children. There were a lot of new developments happening, Bass and Roll being brought into the mix was interesting. Rock looked up at his ‘rival’, puffing his chest out.

“Only in extreme cases, but mostly she’ll be our operator. She’s going to help us gather information to take down your team! We’ll get to you eventually, Terra!”

“Right, of course. And you won’t need X to handle me? Speaking of, the hell is that guy?”

“He’s coming later, Zero drove us here.”

He patted Rock’s shoulder, lifting his head to gaze over at Zero with clear mischief.

“Don’t tell me we’ll have to settle an old score…”

“I’m not part of this, so don’t worry. I won’t kick your ass for him, either.” The taller blonde was grinning with his teeth at Terra as he spoke. Roll, Rock, and Bass looked between the two, seeing that they were referencing something they weren’t familiar with. Bass tugged the Light siblings over, wanting to get back to their play time quickly.

Zero needed to destress, he would keep the school yard antics away while his brother spent time with his friend. Plus he wasn’t as alien to Terra’s cousins as he was with his classmates, it shouldn’t be as uncomfortable getting into his role. 

The members of Terra’s group present were Pluto, Neptune, and Jupiter. It would be the Star Droids vs their team of Earth fighters. Rock had offered to call themselves the Mega Warriors but Roll groaned loudly while Bass said he would drop kick him off a building if he ever called him that. The battle was a tough one, Bass was getting aggravated at the restriction being made about firing shots from his weapon. 

Why couldn’t they just wrestle and settle this with their fists? Rock said that wouldn’t be fair when Bass had the height and weight advantage, making the taller boy sneer at him.

“Oh right, and you’d lose to everyone here since you’re the wimpiest guy in the room.”

“That’s not very nice…”

“This is stupid.”

Roll watched them carefully, something needed to be done before he lost his temper. Blues watched her at work, he had been planning on inserting himself but saw that his sister could handle this. The presence of an official operator helped streamline the story a bit more so Rock wouldn’t be embarrassed at his younger sister coming to his defense. She took her place out of firing range, pretending to use a communicator with their team and banging against a tree trunk to get the boys’ attention.

“Mega Man, can you hear me?”

Rock caught on to the muffled way she was covering her mouth. 

“Just barely, the transmission isn't too clear…”

“You can’t use your regular weapons against the Star Droids, and my bro---saber is useless. You’ll have to figure out something else… Forte and Break Man’s weapons are similar to yours, team work will be vital here! That means you and Forte should try firing off together.”

She made eye contact with Bass when she was finished, gesturing with her chin at her brother. He caught on, he was to stay at Rock’s side.

Thankfully, his role also involved insulting Rock for being a weakling and focusing on getting rid of their enemies so he would be the only one who could claim victory over Mega Man. Blues felt his eyes rolling back into his skull as he heard their back and forth, using his book to take cover from stray nerf gun ammo whenever Rock got too distracted with Bass. 

Jupiter was fast, rushing in to hug Blues by his torso. Neither of them thought that the momentum would knock him over, the older boy was about to topple onto the concrete until he felt hands pushing him back up. 

The middle Light brother turned around to see Bass struggling to force back the combined weight of the two boys. He was grunting from the strain, barely managing to get them into equilibrium.

“Break Man! We can’t fix you if you break on us!”

Blues tried to stabilize himself but his body wasn’t listening to him. Jupiter caught on that this wasn’t play time anymore, seeing the genuine look of discomfort on Blues and Bass’s faces. He tried to pull himself back, having difficulty until Rock rushed over to help him off of the older boy. 

“Sorry, Mega Man. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“It’s ok, just Break Man isn’t the best with his balance sometimes. You can rough house like that with Bass or X! Just be careful with Bass, he doesn’t know his strength sometimes.” 

Rock laughed a bit at the end of his sentence. 

Bass shot him an annoyed look.

“Don’t offer me!”

Blues was still being held by Bass, putting a hand to his ear at the other yelling. If he wasn’t still struggling with the dizzy spell, he would be shoving the boy away. Rock smiled at them, winking at Blues.

“Alright, so look after my brother for a bit longer. Once he’s ready, I’ll need the help taking down these guys!”

Rock went back to fighting off the Star Droids, Bass sticking his tongue out at him when he was running away. Roll rushed over to them, concern evident on her face when she placed her hands on her brother.

“I can take care of Blues from here. Come on, let’s sit on the bench.”

Blues leaned himself on her shoulder, looking at Bass directly once he was off of the other boy.

“Think you can handle defending Mega Man until I can get back?”

“That’s not what I do. But I suppose I can take care of the useless kid if it’s for you. You owe me a proper duel later”

Roll glared at him as he walked away to Rock’s side. The middle Light brother was more amused than offended by Bass’s words, not at all worried about the boy glaring at him when he was speaking. Wily siblings were equally awful at expressing their intentions.

Rock’s attention was stolen away by Pluto walking over while holding the purring bundle. 

“Hey Rock--I mean Mega Man? Tango seems to really like me, can I keep him? He’d be a great member of the Star Droids, and he keeps walking over here anyway!”

Rock was pulling Tango away, holding her close against his chest. The cat was unbothered at changing hands, going boneless as Rock held her close. Her legs bobbed as he turned away from the other boy.

“No! I love her too much”

The youngest Light brother placed the cat on the ground, Tango walking over inside the café to drink from a bowl left out for her. Across the room, laughter could be heard from the men sitting at a table out just barely out of view. 

“I can’t believe you’re still doing that…”

“They keep calling me back, I’m not gonna say no to easy money.”

The modeling gig was a joke more than anything that first time, Zero really didn’t expect that to work out. He was high out of his mind when he did the audition, giggling like an idiot with Terra while they waited to be called up. They both got the job, but to both of their surprise Zero was being offered more work after the shoot was over. 

Wily didn’t exactly approve of it. He didn’t mention any of the specifics to his father, but he got a few earfuls of being calling a prostitute among other remarks. That tone certainly changed once Zero had finished struggling his way through college and landed his current job. The old man just didn’t need to know Zero would take on the side gig every time they asked for his presence, and this next one was for a small time company anyway. He doubted very many people would even see the image set once it was released.

They were at a stand still again, so careful not to cause another big explosion. The eldest son didn’t want Bass running off like that again…

Though maybe it was proving to be a good thing. Still paying attention to the children outside, Zero saw Bass playing with Rock, genuinely smiling and running back and forth between the smaller boy and Blues. It seemed they were a good influence, Zero had no reason to stop their games when Bass’s recent grades had been going up. He smiled lazily, which of the Light boys’ fault that was exactly, he could only imagine. 

What even was the deal with that guy, the oldest brother. He had a cute face but he was so…

Thinking back on it, it made the elder Wily brother a bit sad thinking that the only reason he warmed up to himself was because he wasn’t a complete fuck up. Not one of those guys, the drifters that dropped out of school and had no educational background. That was his insecurity speaking, he knew it was unfair to think the other was even capable of being that type of man when he was so sickeningly sweet. 

Besides, who the fuck cared...it didn’t mean anything. Zero still felt like a failure, all things considered. It was hard not to second guess when people would say ‘I’m so proud of you’, the negative parts of himself thinking it had to be said in a backhanded way. Because who would ever genuinely be happy for him…

He fought down his bitterness by focusing on the future, grateful he had the free time again to hang around his friends. It was even better that Bass was finally making his own. He looked over at Rock and Bass, the taller boy was showing Rock how to switch the ammo in his nerf gun faster. Roll and Blues were talking with Pluto about potentially getting him his own cat ears. 

That made the eldest Wily brother snort. He was so high…

The buzz was easing his nerves but he could tell by the fact that his self loathing was returning it was wearing off. 

When he turned back to Terra, his friend seemed to be marginally more sober. 

“I want another hit.”

“Alright, but drink some water later.”

Terra went up to grind up more of their stash to use in their bong, turning around to hear the bell notifying them that someone was coming inside. It was X, he looked around a bit to make sure he wasn’t intruding.

The doors had been left open to keep the children at hearing range, so the place wasn’t completely full of smoke. There was also incense being burned, the smell of sage being the most prominent. He glanced over at Zero looking at him warmly. His response was to smile back shyly. Seeing how red blonde male’s eyes were, he could tell the other wasn’t on this planet anymore and therefore would make that kind of dreamy expression at anything that moved. 

In that moment though, it was an incredible feeling that it existed at all and was being directed at himself. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting…”

“Not at all, join the party.”

Terra made it a point to hold up the bong in his hands. Zero shifted himself to make room for the other man.

The oldest Light sibling took a hit after situating himself between Zero and Terra. The other men laughed at the way he started coughing, making it clear he wasn’t the most experienced in this regard. Terra passed him his water, X gratefully downing it while he tried to breath again.

Eventually, he calmed down. His head was getting clearer by the minute. Never mind the fact that he had labs due today that he had to upload online, they were becoming as easy to ignore as the insecurity he had felt being so close to the attractive man next to him.

It was smooth sailing from there, the brunet relaxing into his seat and declaring that his head was empty for the first time in months. Zero asked if that was a good thing, Terra telling him that the blonde haired man of all people should know that it is. 

“Alright, had me worried you were dying there for a second…”

“Don’t worry about me, I might not look it but I’ve cheated death plenty of times.”

“....”

“You don’t believe me, do you? I know, I get it. You must think I look like I’ve never done anything, don’t I?”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly…”

“You hang around Axl, right? Well let me tell you…”

Terra discreetly walked away when he noticed Zero and X were talking mostly to each other, and someone should probably be keeping an eye out on the children outside. Plus there was some cleaning he could do around the front. He laughed, too bad Sunstar wasn’t here right now.

X was less uptight when he was high and his fun side was pulling through as he shared some of his personal history that wasn’t academic related.

“So I thought ‘what would be the worst thing I could call him that would make him fall off his bike?’, I won’t go into specifics but think awful 90’s cop lingo. Blatant stupidity. The guy made the weirdest scream I’ve ever heard and promptly ate concrete. Axl was dying the whole trip back, we should have gotten into an accident but ya know...”

X laughed at the end of his sentence, looking over at Zero’s smiling face and realizing he had talked his ear off. His buzz was going down and he could feel his self consciousness returning. Where the hell did Terra run off to, leaving him alone to make an idiot of himself…

He cleared his throat, facing Zero once more with some reservation.

“Haha yeah, so I try not to bother biker gangs... anyway, sorry for oversharing like that. This stuff goes to my head too easily. Probably cause I’m so short...”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I like hearing you talk.”

X looked at him bewildered. It seemed that the warm expression wasn’t going away anytime soon.

“You do?”

“Yeah, it's a lot more fun when you can actually look me in the face.”

“Sorry…”

Zero laughed at the way he forced out an apology. He patted X on the back, laughing at the shorter man. 

“It’s alright, really! Don’t worry so much, we’re all friends here.”

Zero was very high, feeling particularly warm and fuzzy. He looked around, noting that they were alone. It gave him the boldness to enter X’s personal space, the other was too cute for his own good. Much better than the demure, overly responsible front he would put up before. 

“And we could be closer than that, if you want…”

His arm was brushing alongside X’s, the brown haired man going still when the other came closer. He felt Zero’s breath on his face and it made all of his skin feel suddenly much more sensitive. X was starting to think he might’ve had too much and was possibly hallucinating. 

“I think you’re just the right size….You’re a button, ya know that?”

Zero’s face seemed to be getting closer to X’s, the green eyed man not pulling away even when Zero seemed to brush his nose against his cheek. Blue eyes seemed to be looking at him in question if this was alright. It made his throat tighten, internally he’d like nothing more than to press his face against the other and kiss him senseless, but not only were they in public but their respective family members were outside. His reasoning was falling apart, the voices in his head getting quieter and falling away the longer he stared at the other man.

“You look like a blueberry with that helmet and this…”

A hand tugged at his scarf, not to take it off but invading more of his personal space. He didn’t realize he had left his helmet on the whole time, blushing when he felt it being lifted off. X found himself leaning up, pressing his face to brush against Zero’s cheek. That made the other smile, he brushed down the freed brown hair with his fingers. His mouth was pressed against the side of his head.

“I like you, X...”

X wanted to say the feeling was mutual but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead he simply used a hand to guide the other man's face so they could look at each other.

"I don't care much for anything sweet, but I'd love to take a bite ou—-"

The moment was ruined when a stray nerf gun dart went flying across the room, hitting Zero in the back of the head. The recoil caused him to accidentally head butt X, their mouths awkwardly touching in a way that couldn’t even be called a kiss but distracted X from the painful collision. 

Zero was quick to stand up, glaring at the group of children watching him like a group of deer in headlights. He was completely sober now. 

“So...who wants to die first?”

All of the children ran screaming, Bass shoving Rock to the ground in the hopes that he would be a sacrifice to divert his brother’s attention. 

X could only watch while Zero grabbed Bass and Rock and swung them around, saying there would be hell to pay but tossing Rock up like he was congratulating him. 

He felt a ghost like sensation on the areas where Zero's presence had been, his head was in pain but there was no escaping the fact that the taller man had made a legitimate pass. There was no ignoring or denial he could put into the physical contact. Terra reappeared from the back room, snickering as he watched Zero join the children’s game and ‘terrorize’ them with the broom he was calling his Z-saber. Rock and Bass were screaming, the three boys making a temporary truce with the Star Droids so they could take down Zero together. Roll said it would be tricky taking down an android of the future, but if all 5 of them combined their power it could work. That was taken as meaning they should dog pile on Bass’s older brother.

The broom was promptly tossed aside when there were ranging sized children jumping at him. X swallowed at the fact that the taller man could support the combined body weight, pretending to fall but making sure the children weren’t hurt when they were on the ground. He made a show of being defeated.

“Ok ok, I give up! I surrender! Get off of me!”

He was smiling while he yelled at the children, not even angry anymore. X didn’t know what compelled him to join in but he picked up a nerf gun. He aimed his weapon between the boys, smirking.

“That’s enough out of you, let Zero go!”

Rock looked up at that, smiling at his brother.

“Mega Man X! Don’t tell me you’re on his side!”

The elder sibling snickered a bit at Rock’s dramatic expression of betrayal. Bass saw the exchange and did his best to look like a villain.

“That means he’s on our side, we’re bad guys! We’re way cooler than those Star Geeks!”

Rock rushed over to Bass to express his dislike for the idea, the taller boy smirking at the thought of having the eldest Light sibling and Zero in his own group. The youngest Light brother was practically gagging, Zero was too nice to be classified as a Wily robot. Even though he was technically a member of their clan, Rock didn’t want another group of villains to deal with. 

“No way! Zero’s not evil, right? We just...woke him up too early, I think. He’s a future robot like X, so he might not have been ready yet. Besides, Mega Man X has a pure heart, he only fights for good!”

Rock looked over at X and Blues, hoping someone could come up with an idea that would mean Zero wasn’t his enemy. X saw through it, he looked down at Zero and winked.

“He’s not a bad guy, I can tell you that for certain because...because he’s my partner.”

Zero had to double take for a moment, his eyes went wide. He grinned after it had sunk in, pushing the group of children crushing him off his body while they were distracted. He was smiling up at X, the eldest Light sibling noting there was some disbelief at his bold statement. X couldn't believe he had the balls to say that, either, chalking it up to the drugs still in his system.

“That’s right… X and I are partners. We’re the….what are we called again?”

X wasn’t expecting that, trying to come up with a name for their team last minute. 

“....uh….we’re….we’re the umm…..we’re the Maverick Hunters”

All of the children looked at them confused. Bass couldn’t even come up with a comment on Zero’s betrayal when the term came into play. Pluto was the one to ask the question on all their minds.

“Maverick Hunters?” 

“It means we take down bad guys who don’t follow the rules. Mavericks are bad guys.”

The collective of children kept staring at X, still not understanding. The general confusion X was causing made Zero hold a hand up to his mouth to stifle down the laughing fit that wanted to come out. 

“Why not call yourself hunters then?”

“Because that doesn’t sound as fun…” Zero replied, combing back his hair with a free hand while.

Blues nodded in agreement, for some reason Maverick Hunter sounded pretty cool. The image of old western films came to mind, but a definitive answer wasn’t something he could think of that would explain why mavericks needed to be hunted. 

Rock seemed to have the same thought process, Blues appreciating his brother for never having reservations in asking for clarification.

“I thought mavericks were the good guys in cowboy movies.”

X grinned at that, seeing where the connection could get confusing. He had half a mind to say ‘Irregular Hunters’, but the phrase sounded much clunkier and saying they hunted anyone that was an ‘irregular’ would’ve been even more awkward. Rock would misunderstand and say himself was an ‘irregular’, and that would make him sad. Mavericks would have to do.

“Not always, maverick just means someone who doesn’t follow the rules. So if you break the law, you’re a maverick. In this case bad guys are mavericks. And why do I need to explain this so much? Just call us the Maverick Hunters and leave Zero alone!”

X walked over to lend a hand to help Zero stand up. They smiled at each other, X facing Zero directly with self assuredness now that he was more comfortable with the man. 

They could be closer, if he wanted. The choice was left open for X to make and that made him feel comfortable in his own skin. He liked those words more as they repeated in his mind over and over. There was no added pressure and it was abundantly clear the older man at least thought he was someone he would like to get better acquainted with. 

If X wanted...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why does Bass like Proto Man? Well, as much as he likes anyone...it’s a little less brazen than his cru— I mean rivalry with Mega Man.
> 
> I’m choosing to believe it’s because Proto Man is 'the cooler Mega Man'. He’s got the style and the scarf. How could anyone not like the robot who wears two pairs of sunglasses?
> 
> Proto Man: Babes love guys who know how to accessorize
> 
> Zero, literally swoons and the world slows down when X rescues him in chapter 5 of Command Mission: they put the after burners so I would have to look at his upgraded backsi---I MEAN YOU’RE SURROUNDED BY LOSERS, I’M LEAVING AGAIN
> 
> X:..........................I can’t believe this is working
> 
> you may recognize some Zoolander undertones


	8. Mega Man III

“Bass! What are you doing out this late? Get inside, right now!”

The boy was staring down at his father from across the street. His buster was lowered, having been aimed at Mega Man. He was about to win…

It distracted him from the fact that the sun was starting to set. His father’s voice persisted, louder this time.

“Bass! So help me God…”

He faced Mega Man, glaring between Dr. Wily and the other boy. Rock was holding up his own buster but he knew well that their fight was over. He muttered under his breath, unable to contain the regret seeping out.

“I think...I have to go home now…”

The fighting robot wanted to say something that would get the other out of having to leave but he was blanking. Rock couldn’t tell him to come to their house every day, though he loved his company. Loud sounds usually bothered him, but for whatever reason Bass’s voice wasn’t unpleasant. Mega Man lowered his weapon to his side limply.

“Ok…”

Hearing how crestfallen the shorter boy was snapped Bass out of his own worries, mustering up his usual energy. He hated that droopy look on his face.

“But next time, I’ll crush you for real! Watch your back, Mega Man! Only I’m allowed to defeat you!”

Not wanting to watch Mega Man for much longer, he picked up the rest of his toys. Bass ran off, joining his father’s side but not before glancing at Rock one last time. The shorter boy waved at him, trying not to let it show that he was sad to see him enter the fortress. The backdrop of the sun setting made it almost look black, there was an over sized shadow being cast that would have usually made Rock afraid. In his current mind set, he was tightening his hands into fists then raised his mega buster to his chest with determination.

He’d go there one day and defeat Dr. Wily.

He was making that promise to himself when he saw the old man grab Bass’s upper arm to pull him inside. He couldn’t make out what exactly he was saying, speaking in a language Rock wasn’t familiar with. 

Picking up his weapons for Mega Man, he ran back to his own home. He returned in record time, mostly because he didn’t want to run into any other neighbor kids when he was feeling so low. It was difficult explaining to his family, friends were nearly impossible when it came to talking about how Mega Man’s greatest weakness was Rock’s own shortcomings. The door had been left closed but unlocked, Rush was running to the door to greet the youngest Light brother. It made him feel somewhat better to rub the excited animal, looking around for any other signs of life.

Besides Rush, the living room was empty. He refilled the dog’s food bowl and rinsed out his water dish, hoping to find some semblance of his family’s presence but there were only a few post-it notes left by Blues saying what the fridge needed to be restocked with. Looking at the calendar, Rock remembered then that Roll had a dance class that wouldn’t finish for another hour. There was a star on the date for her concert coming up in 2 weeks. Blues would most likely be nearby, seeing as how he was nowhere to be found presently. The living room had been cleaned since Rock left earlier in the afternoon, meaning it was most likely X. 

It worried him...the past few weeks had been great for Mega Man’s adventures with Bass, but it looked like X wasn’t having a good time enduring his school. He hadn’t gone outside for 3 days in a row. Blues told him to lay off, right now there were special exams for older students and Rock shouldn’t bother their older brother. He obeyed but it still made him worried. X could get into a funk sometimes, like when he quit his job helping Signas. What made this trickier was Dr. Light wouldn’t be home everyday to offer his support.

Rock wondered if it was a bad idea to bother X when he could feel his throat closing up from his nerves. The silence was good but it was unsettling having their home so empty. His thoughts were getting overwhelmed with how his brother and Bass had all these issues that he was helpless with, and he could feel the pressure on his chest forming. He hoped X would forgive him but he really needed his brother right now.

Right as he put a hand on the doorknob, Rock stopped once he heard the buzzing from a phone on vibrate. Freezing in place, he heard X’s tired voice soon after. 

“H-hello?”

“Hey, are you busy right now?”

Rock knew that voice. 

X looked at the clock on his phone, it was 7:14 pm. It was odd trying to think what on Earth could have Axl this worked up. It worried him more than the surplus of studying he was nowhere near finished with. 

“What is it?”

“Do you wanna go to the beach?”

He looked at the mess on his desk and the disheveled attire he had been wearing all day. Glancing at the mirror, he realized he had forgotten to brush his hair again. There were dark circles under his eyes even though he had been so careful to make sure he slept a full 8 hours every night. 

“You still there?”

“Yeah….sure, let me put pants on and I’ll let you know when I’m outside.”

The response came out before X could stop himself. The pleased yells on the other end of his phone made it clear that the younger man was overjoyed by the response, even though X really shouldn’t run off like this. One of his midterms was tomorrow but at this point, he didn’t care. He was becoming more afraid of his own numbness than the risk of failure.

“Do you want me to pick you up, or--”

“It’s fine, I’ll drive down there then we can go. Thanks bud!”

“Ok, I’ll see you soon.”

X hung up without saying another word. 

Getting dressed was a mechanical endeavor, so was trying to make his face somewhat presentable. He just hoped the guy wouldn’t make fun of him for looking like a zombie, he was starting to feel like one as the semester progressed. 

There was a knock on his door that jumped him out of his self deprecating thoughts. 

“X? Can I come in?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

Rock opened the door quietly, closing it gently so the click of the metal hinges weren’t audible. He fiddled with his hands, poking and scratching with his nails in a way X knew he only did when his anxiety was high. 

“What is it, Rocky?”

“I heard you...are you going to see Axl?”

X folded his arms over himself reflexively. Leaving Rock alone wasn’t a good idea, looking at his brother’s face bringing back some of his strength.

“Only for a bit. Is something bothering you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, if you finished all your work for the day, wanna tag along for the drive?”

The elder brother smiled when Rock was running over to hug him. He didn’t need to give more of a response, dashing out of the room to his own so he could get dressed for the adventure with Mega Man X. He heard X’s voice yelling after him from down the hallway. 

“Put on your heavy coat, it’ll be cold!”

“Thank you, X!”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Rocky! Good to see ya, buddy!”

“Axl!!”

He ran up to hug the older boy, screaming when he was being swung around. They matched energy, Axl stopping his twirls for a moment to regain his footing. Rock spoke in tones recognizable only when he was acting as Mega Man. 

“Did you find out anything for your chameleon ability?”

Axl grinned wide enough to take up most of his face. Rock liked that the older boy didn’t mind when he would put a hand on his nose to touch his scar.

“Not yet! But I haven’t given up, I’ll learn the secret of my past one of these days! Gosh, if I knew you were coming I would’ve brought you a gift.”

He placed the small boy on the ground, ruffling his hair after. Rock felt X placing the shawl around his shoulders, tucking it around his neck so it was almost like a poncho. The youngest Light brother wrapped his hands in the warm material, X had been right. It was freezing even with the extra layers of clothing Rock had put on, odd since it was nowhere near this bad when he had been playing with Bass earlier. Axl tilted his head at Rock’s brother.

“Speaking of chameleons; X, your nose is turning red! Need an extra coat?”

X forced himself to smile at the way Axl was staring him down. 

“It’s fine, I just need to adjust...I’ve been inside so much, it’s actually kind of nice feeling the air like this.”

“I bet. Zero told me you were hibernating for the winter.”

X put a hand to his temple while Rock and Axl laughed at the choice of words. It was appropriate, Rock thought X was like a bear in the morning as he slumped to pour cup after cup of coffee. X didn’t seem to think this was particularly funny, especially the idea that his friends were discussing him behind his back. 

“That guy…he almost fooled me into thinking he wasn’t interested in gossip.”

“Easy! He had nothing but positive things to say, if that’s worth anything.”

X grit his teeth. He felt guilty for avoiding him on the fewer and fewer instances he would leave the house. The blonde man kept texting him, checking in and saying that whenever X was free, he would be here for him. There was also continuing gratitude at the way he was fine letting Bass into their home and helping him with his own school work, though X stopped responding to the parts where Zero would request him having another fun get together like the one with Terra.

It wasn’t only the fact that his school work was taking over his life that had made X hesitant to spend more time with his new friend, additionally it was fear that Zero would find out about how X could get cranky and depressed. He didn’t like being poor company with any of his friends. 

Axl was one of those rare people that didn’t seem to care what mental state he was in, and for the most part his excitable presence had a positive effect on X. He was only a year younger, but he made X feel ancient by comparison. 

“You look like a ghost, though. Rock, you gotta get him to play more Mega Man so he gets some sun at least.”

X was too exhausted to defend himself. 

“Leave me alone.”

“Alright squad, let’s go! Want me to drive?”

“No, we’re taking my dad’s car. His heater actually works, Axl.”

The taller man snickered. They walked side by side, Rock following close behind. He spotted a raccoon walking across the street, getting distracted briefly and moving right into a collision with Axl’s side. The man didn’t seem to mind, patting Rock on the head then running up to the car to open the door for him.

“After you, Mega.”

“Thanks, Axl!”

X watched the pair, looking at Rock to talk to him. 

“Funny, he’s never that nice with me.”

Axl was pulling X by the shoulder and pushing him to the driver’s seat. Taking his own place, he looked at X mischievously. 

“You love me.”

X slammed the driver seat closed wordlessly. He turned on the heater to its maximum setting, glancing back to make sure Rock put on his seat belt. Once it was all accounted for, he turned over to Axl. 

“So, where are we going?”

“We aaarrrreeeee…”

Axl picked up his phone, tilting his head to the side in thought. He pursed his lips, making the scar across his nose wrinkle. 

“How about the pier by the old spot? We can hit that place up and watch the tide come in.”

X nodded, not needing any more direction from there. The drive was fairly quiet, save for Axl connecting his phone to the music player so he could set one of his playlists up. Once finished, Rock was watching Axl suck on a metal tube. After a few seconds, he blew smoke out of a crack he left in the passenger window. Rock watched the entire exchange of his brother side eyeing Axl, Axl smirking, then X laughing under his breath. 

“Thank you for using a scented one this time.”

“I gotchu, fam. Wouldn’t want daddy thinking your friends are a bad influence, heh heh.”

“Never call Dr. Light that again.”

“Whatever.”

It was hard for the youngest Light brother to tell when X was actually annoyed or this was part of their game. Then again, he couldn’t tell emotions that well to begin with, mostly relying on how straight forward his friends and family members were to be able to tell how a situation was going. Judging by the fact that Axl was still smiling and humming along to the music playing, they were still having a good time. 

The younger man commented that it was great X was so lucky at finding parking. They were right along the street in a free spot, only having to walk a few blocks down to get to their destination. Strolling along the sidewalk, the youngest Light brother enjoyed how quiet and empty the usually busy shopping district was after all the shops had closed. He liked night time…

The dark didn’t scare him that much, not like it did for other children. He liked the mystery and how sound seemed to be drowned out by the openness. Plus there were always non-human friends wandering around, none that would be so brave during the day. 

The crisp air did feel great and it was apparent that there would be plenty of stars to look at tonight. When they got to the bridge leading down to the beach at the pier, Rock had been so embroiled in enjoying their walk that he didn’t realize X was offering to lift him up. His protests came out louder than he meant for them to.

“I can get down the rocks by myself!”

“You sure? It’s a little st--”

“Mega Man has strong metal legs!”

He was hopping over before his brother could get another word in, X following after quickly. He didn’t breathe until they were at a spot where the three of them could sit, Axl keeping himself close behind Rock while X stayed in front of him. 

The younger Light sat close to his brother, partially so he could share the warmth of the shawl with him. He placed his head against his arm, listening to the older boys talk about school and work. He didn’t understand a good portion of it, especially when Axl started complaining about his college math classes, but it was comforting hearing their voices. 

Axl had a rough life and Rock never tired hearing about his experiences. From what he heard from the man and from X, he used to fight a lot like Bass would. Teachers had hated him and tried to convince him to either drop out or transfer to another high school, but X refused to give up on him. 

It was funny, given that the way they met involved X yelling that he couldn’t stand the younger boy’s presence and would have been happy never to see his face again. Rock would never forget that first interaction, counting himself lucky he tagged along that day. He was overjoyed to be included tonight, too.

“Palette called me a broke ass bitch just because I haven’t reached a billion yet, but come on! Not all of us are playing animal crossing to make money, I do it to get the ugliest neighbors!”

“...”

“Come on, X, I left myself wide open on that one. You’re not gonna say that I have to move out, then?”

“You make it too easy. Plus I’m tired…”

Rock jumped slightly when he realized that neither himself or his brother had been paying attention to their body limits.

“We didn’t have dinner!”

X frowned, he shouldn’t have neglected that. Axl laughed a bit, pulling over his backpack to unzip it.

“Not to worry, gang, I got you covered! I’m always ready for snacks. You want chips, Rocky?”

“Yeah!”

X crossed his arms over his chest while he watched his brother run to Axl’s side. The older boy gave him an assortment of candy as well as a bag of egg chips, rummaging around he also found a few juice boxes. He handed one to each of the Light siblings respectively. X’s exhaustion overpowered the responsible voice in his head trying to reprimand himself for allowing Rock to have so many unhealthy foods.

“You’re the best, Axl!”

“I know, but it’s nice to hear that once in a while. I’ll get this guy to admit how great I am, someday!”

X rolled his eyes, placing the side of his face on a hand. His elbow was being balanced on his leg, looking between the sky and the boys. When asked if his younger brother could explore, he gave cautious approval to his brother staying within their eyesight. Rock climbed down further until he reached the sand below, the tide was nowhere near them yet so he was free to comb the sides for shells. When Axl told him he saw starfish on the rocks on one of the nights he was prowling the streets, the small boy kept his hopes up on the chance he could find a friend on his journey. 

The pair of older boys watched him hopping on one foot next to the coast. He seemed to be getting lucky, picking up broken pieces with interesting colors and putting them in a makeshift pouch he formed using the shawl. 

Axl offered his vape pen to his friend, X putting a hand up to decline. After a few minutes of eating snacks in silence, he was offered a second time. He relented, blowing out smoke rings. He passed back the pen, Axl taking a deep breath before releasing his own string of rings, trying to make more than his friend had. He fell short by one, the last broken cloud coming out with a cough. X had to smile, helping Axl regain himself by rubbing his back gently. The taller man was smiling sheepishly once he could breathe again, turning his attention back to the sky so he could look at the stars. 

X looked between the constellations and the side of his face. The scar looked odd against the night lights. 

“....Why did you call me?”

Green eyes similar to his own were looking at him curiously, giving X his full attention. 

“Dunno...I felt like hanging out with someone and I hadn’t seen you in a while. I missed you.”

“I don’t like dragging people down when I’m stressed…I wouldn't have been much fun.”

“I don’t mind. You don’t need to entertain me, you know.”

“I know...you seem pretty good at doing that on your own.”

“Yeah I am. Doesn’t mean I don’t like having you there. But boy, Rock’s getting taller! You better watch out, he might surpass you one of these days!”

“God, don’t even say that…”

Axl winked at X, laughing as he watched Rock wave at them a large shell he had found buried somewhere.

“Looks like the dad car is gonna get filled with sand.”

X was uneasy but he was glad Rock seemed to be doing better. Cleaning out his father’s car was the least of his troubles. 

“Honestly, I don’t care as long as he’s having a good time…”

“Well...if you want to talk, I’m here for you. If you don’t, we can keep chilling like this for as long as you like.”

“Ok…”

Axl pointed at the sky, smiling as he got X’s attention.

“That’s the big dipper, and I can see the little one over there! That’s what you guys are, the big and small versions...”

X felt himself relaxing as his friend trailed off to list whatever he names he knew off the top of his head, mentioning how he was teaching himself more on the subject by using an app on his phone. It helped that he was too exhausted to keep panicking.

Watching Rock run around, it made X happy that this much was enough to rid his brother of his anxiety. One day this wouldn’t be enough or there would be something that X couldn’t help him with, and the thought was scaring him a bit. X didn’t have an older brother to help him out like his siblings did, though Blues would never admit he needed it. All the eldest sibling had was Dr. Light, and his absence was starting to take its toll. 

He didn’t feel like he was doing enough to handle his classes and his family. He wanted to be able to take care of things when his father’s research was finally getting to that point he had always hope for. X kept wishing that one morning he would awaken and level up with the knowledge that would make his studies less difficult, then everything else would fall into place and he would have no reason to make his father worry. As it stands, he was drowning in his own failures. He tried to focus on the small victories, like being able to still be of some use at work and with his family.

X wondered if Dr. Light felt the same way looking at his eldest son’s dilemma as X did when Blues had his first existential crisis. It might have been a bit different, he had decades of wisdom whereas X was realizing there was an entire universe’s worth of experience he didn’t have. 

Rock ran back up to them, his shawl was dirty and wet from the collection he had made. He was sweating slightly, having moved around a lot and excited to show the pair what he had found. Axl held one up, admiring the reflective qualities on the shell. 

“This one’s cool, I like the pink and purple colors.”

“Then it’s yours!”

“What? No way, this is way too good to just give away!”

“But I want you to have it! You’re my friend!”

Rock was pushing the offered shell further into Axl’s hands, his face was serious. 

“Alright, if you insist. I’ll treasure it!”

The youngest Light brother suddenly was hit with a thought. Axl might have a good answer.

“Hey, why do you like X?”

His older brother choked on the chips he was chewing from Rock’s word choice. That was almost the same thing his brain would come up with, though Rock was doing it without any malice intended. Axl was dying from laughter, slapping Rock on the back.

“Whoa there, what brought that up?”

“I made a new friend, and he kind of reminds me of you. You said you used to be mean and I believe it. You were really mean to X that first time, but now you guys are like this! What changed?”

Axl and X looked between each other and the younger boy.

“Well, for one thing he saved my life---”

“No I didn’t.”

“Shut up, I’m talking to Rock right now. I don’t know what you’re looking for from my perspective, but I like X because he’s a cool guy and we can do pretty much anything together. When I need a friend, I know I can call him and we end up in situations like the one right now!”

Rock liked that answer. 

“I get it...I think I understand. Thanks Axl!”

“No problem! Just don’t let X know I think he’s cool.”

“I’m right here…”

“Shut up.”

They went back to talking to each other, trailing off to a dim memory of X having to physically refrain the younger man from breaking a bookshelf at his workplace. There were several occasions of Alia reminding the young men not to waste resources for students for their games.

They were friends because they could do anything together. Rock and Blues had forced Bass to become their friend. Some of the luster had returned to X’s face, as if he had been revived from being around Axl. Slightly different than the overabundance of energy X had after that day of playing with Zero the first time, or how he was almost too relaxed after an afternoon with Terra and Sunstar. Watching as Axl offered the metal object to his brother again, Rock returned to his seat next to X so he could lay his head against his arm again. He heard the boys talking again, feeling himself drifting slightly to sleep. It was starting to get hard to follow their conversation but it involved Axl telling X to watch himself next time they were racing.

Rock hoped he could have that effect on Bass someday; that the boy would feel comfortable enough to call him at odd hours to either play Mega Man or anything for that matter. That it wouldn’t feel weird to ask for help or offer his own support if Rock ever needed it. He would keep working at it until they reached that level. The thought of the boy locking himself in his room, all alone with only Treble to keep him company…

He didn’t know why that image would appear in his mind so often, but it was enough to inspire him to be stronger. He had to be strong, like Mega Man X and his father. 

A different thought ran through his mind that had him suddenly devoid of any fear:

He needed to be strong for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of the blue, and much later at night than it took place in this fic, my real life Axl hit me up this week to say we should hang out. It’s a funny story...I was about to do something really stupid to myself because I was feeling awful and completely out of hope as a byproduct of quarantine making life harder than usual. When I can sink 25+ hours in the span of a week into an rpg (I am replaying Command Mission for the second time in the span of a month), I should probably ask for help. Then I saw my phone ringing with her name appearing. 
> 
> I guess fate had other plans. This is dedicated to that friend <3 thank you for being such an arrogant, overconfident asshole and forcing me to take part in activities when I’m stuck in anhedonic states. I miss when our group could go outside, without masks or worries, and I could listen to you talk among each other until we reached the coffee shop, the library, or our friend’s house. Sometimes the dog being there and jumping around. Sometimes you were the one jumping.


	9. Mega Man Zero

He brought food. There had been an overabundance since his side job had a tendency to order too much from the catering company. There was a joke made that he shouldn’t eat so much, but of course it wasn’t meant seriously. It never was, until someone ‘jokingly’ offered cocaine or something else to help keep them lean. He may be stupid in some regards, but that was a hardline he would never cross.

He was sitting at the table, spending time with his family because Bass kept telling him how much he liked watching the way his new friends seemed to enjoy each other's company. Maybe not in that specific phrasing, but as his brother he could read between the lines.

And there were good days. He was hoping today would be a good day and that would lead to a string of more good days, so when Bass did have a moment of family time it wouldn’t cause pain. When Terra asked him if he was trying to prove a point for Bass or for himself, he didn’t know how to respond. 

He wasn’t completely sure. The silence from his father could come from a wide range of reasons.

Walking too close to someone on the way home in too friendly a manner. Coming home late. Not saying why he came home late. Not coming home at all. Not saying where he had been or why he decided to come back at all. Being rude with guests. Being rude with his father.

The silence persisted, he thought maybe his father hadn’t heard him when he greeted him earlier and thought he was upset first. Maybe he was trying to match his energy, though his son was attempting not to have a bad mood for the sole purpose of having a decent interaction tonight. Work wasn’t fun, he had half a mind to tell them not to call him back after the way some of the other models acted.

In the pit of his stomach, he also felt guilt and fear. What if…

What if that was how that guy saw him? The all-too-nice softie was still politely responding to his texts, but it seemed like he wasn’t keen on seeing himself again. He tried not to let it hurt his feelings when he learned that the other man jumped to hang out with Axl without any need to make plans. It shouldn’t bother him so much, he’d been rejected before and he should be able to handle it more gracefully. He kept telling himself that but the sting was similar to how things ended with Iris. The key difference being that this relationship didn’t even get to start before he had screwed it all up.

He felt like a creep. In his clouded judgment, he misread the situation and thought the other was reciprocating but maybe he had imagined the whole thing. And now he had to deal with another bit of proof that he was irredeemably awful. He meant it when he had said once that men that didn’t respect boundaries should be locked away forever. Now he was one of them, although his feelings on the subject stayed the same. He wanted to apologize, in person preferably, but that wasn’t his place to ask for the other’s time or force him into another uncomfortable situation. 

He deserved to hate himself. He should hate himself. So he would.

And he would try not to let his flight instincts kick in when he still had to at least be a decent son and brother. 

At least when they needed him.

His father was looking at him icily. It creeped him out how much of himself was similar to the elderly man, especially around the eyes. 

“....”

“....”

“...”

“...hello? How are you father? What did you work on today? Oh, well thank you for asking, today I---”

“If you have something you want to talk about, it would be better if you just got it over with.”

He glared at the old man, returning his intensity with an equal offensive. The older man’s moustache seemed to twitch in response to the grin fighting its way out.

“I saw you. You still don’t know how to drive. You seemed to like having that man’s mouth on your ear.”

“I didn’t, actually. I was working and I had to stay professional. It’s illegal to stalk me; wasn’t sure if you’re aware of that.”

“And what kind of work is that where you let yourself get touched---”

“I didn’t let myse---”

“Is that not what you just said? You think I’m dense, don’t you? I know what happens there, and I know you. That’s why you liked being on the streets! To have fun---”

He picked up his plate and left for his bedroom. Treble followed soon after, the eldest son was mindful enough to where he didn’t close the door until the dog was inside with him. 

“**!****”

He slammed the door without acknowledging that Dr. Wily had spoken. 

So that hadn’t gone well. He checked his phone to find a text from Bass asking if it was alright to spend the weekend with Rock again. Without wasting a second, he sent back a message giving his permission. 

He wouldn’t use this as an opportunity to check in with X and see if maybe there was a chance to save their friendship at least; no matter how much that part of himself burned to do so. He didn’t deserve a second chance; why should he ask for one?

Instead he picked up the half finished bottle of whiskey and turned on the TV. He had failed being a son tonight, and he didn’t need to be a brother either. Not anymore.

There were others that were proving they were much more qualified to take on that mantle. He had taken Treble on his last walk and fed the dog, who was making himself comfortable on his bed so he sat himself on the floor. He was free to hurt himself for the evening. 

His brother once said he was his hero. That was so long ago and it made him feel awful because he didn’t deserve that sentiment. He had nothing to show he was of any value; that was why he was trying so hard now to focus on what he could be doing to be better. He said he would protect him, but he couldn’t even protect himself from how difficult life could be. He wanted to finally do things right this time. But still it eluded him…

He was making the same mistakes. He kept being told no one’s life was linear, but he was getting the feeling his own life was a figure eight. It would seem as though he was making progress in a direction, the sudden turns happening so quick that he didn’t realize he was back in the same place before it was too late. 

At some point, Treble was sitting on his thigh and he felt overheated from the buzz.

He stared up at the ceiling, too lazy to move. Or was it sadness? Heartbreak? His father broke his heart everyday, he should be immune to that sort of thing. Lazy good for nothing was a better descriptor. He took another heavy swing from the bottle. He was realizing he couldn’t hear the television anymore. It was like the rain; static background noise that meant nothing in his current mental state.

Buzz might have been too soft a word choice. Less than sober. Not crisp. But thankfully not drunk enough to pathetically call the man who was probably putting his brother to bed at this moment in time, so probably this was a good stopping point. 

He could feel his leg going numb, but it would be rude to make the dog still on his leg to awaken. Besides, the faint snoring was comforting. It was the only body that would still be there when he woke up the next morning, he thought to himself bitterly. The alcohol made him find the back-handed remark funnier than it was. Everything was funnier in this state, which was why he had to be careful when he got like this.

He would feel worse in the morning, but at least his mind was starting to get quiet. 

When he couldn’t think clearly anymore, he was finally able to embrace the blackout.


	10. Mega Man V (SNES)

“Blues? I have to ask, did you do this?”

“What? No! I swear, I didn’t!!”

The teacher’s assistant looked at him suspiciously. His actual teacher hadn’t been around and the younger man eye balling him in thinly veiled doubt had been occupied helping other students, leaving the crime that was committed outside of his radar. It was also outside of his pay grade, but Blues wasn’t in a place to pity the TA when he was being confronted like this.

He knew he shouldn’t have gone to school today. The one time he went against his gut instinct and he was having to pay for it with his classmates and their TA looking at him like he was a criminal.

The young adult was kneeling down in a way that the middle Light sibling was sure had been meant to convey sympathy. It instead made Blues feel worse, there were too many eyes looking at him. 

“If you needed help, you could have just told me. But to take from someone else---”

He felt disgusted, his dizziness threatening to kick in. He kept himself composed through sheer will power. If he passed out, what would the others think? They might assume he was overwhelmed with guilt, he couldn’t let that happen. Maintaining eye contact, he looked directly at Mr. Regal. He would just have to fend for himself until his science teacher returned. Of his teachers, she was the rare exception that he deemed alright. 

“No, I can take care of myself! I don’t need to steal and even if I really had to, I still wouldn’t do it!” That last part came out especially harsh; partially because the idea of being labeled a thief made him sick. If X were to get that type of news...or worse, their father.

A classmate was raising their hand, the one who had lost their wallet and started the whole mess. His expression was pissing Blues off but he knew better than to look angry. It was already incriminating that they had been sitting next to each other for months and Blues never reciprocated his attempts at friend making. Not because he had anything against the peer before this moment, Blues just preferred to keep to himself.

“He seems to be protesting an awful lot...there’s no need to be so defensive if you’re innocent. You were the only one next to my bag, if you didn’t take it then there shouldn’t be a problem checking your stuff.”

He glared at the boy. Mr. Regal looked uneasily between the children, feeling tense. The rest of the class watched as Blues shoved his backpack onto the table, emptying it of his contents. A nerf gun fell out amid the clutter of books and writing utensils, much to his embarrassment. Of course there were peers who knew the game he played with his brother but it was still a source of shame hearing the snickers from the crowd in recognition. 

He didn’t like how he was being looked at. It was uncomfortable but he handed over his bag for good measure, even though the brunt of its contents were now on full display. Mr. Regal didn’t know what to say, Blues gave him a sympathetic glance. He doubted his training covered anything like this. He felt a little better when the young man looked at him with relief, most likely grateful that he wouldn’t have to deal with two upset children. 

His classmate got annoyed after several minutes of unsuccessful rummaging. 

“Alright, fine! So it’s not here, but how do we know he didn’t run out and put it in his locker? Or hide it in the classroom?” He spat out with irritation. 

“Because I sat at my desk the whole time. Anyone else who was sitting in this classroom during the break can vouch for me.” The middle Light brother maintained his cool. He always had to, knowing well that if Rock were to hear about this through the grapevine he would hope it would be a shameful description. 

Blues looked around, hoping for some form of validation. One boy he recognized as Frost Man’s brother, but he averted his gaze. It seemed that the coward’s path was a popular one. So much for classroom camaraderie, he thought to himself. 

“Maybe I was too hopeful…”, he huffed out in a whisper. The uneasy look their TA was making as both children watched him for his next move gave Blues little hope. 

Returning in time to rescue Mr. Regal from having to make a decision, Ms. Ciel's presence was enough to quiet the entire room. She glanced at the oddity of the lack of disruption, all of the attention was redirected at her.

“Did a student die here? Someone explain.”

No one could get a word in before the victim. 

“Blues stole my wallet and he won’t give it back!” He had run to Ms. Ciel’s side to have the first say.

Their teacher glanced between the two. Blues tried his best to meet her eyes everytime, hoping somehow his innocence would shine through. 

A smirk appeared on her lips. Then a small laugh as she closed her eyes, putting a hand up to her mouth to stifle it. The boy turned bright red at the woman laughing at his concerns. She held a hand up to let the student know she would speak once she was composed.

“You mean this wallet I found on the floor in the hallway?”

The entire classroom erupted into a huge fit. The students talked at varying volume, the boy notably going an even brighter red at seeing his property being held up so casually. Blues felt himself relaxing, going over to pick up his own possessions so he could reorganize them into his bookbag. Mr. Regal walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Sorry for doubting you…”

“Don’t sweat it, you were trying to keep the peace. You’re still too wet behind the ears, though. Leave the serious matters to Ciel.”

He tried to make it clear there was no ill will, to which the young man let out his own breath of relief. Ms. Ciel was now within speaking distance of them, her eyes glistening at Blues. 

“A fine time for you to actually be here.” She laughed again at the end of her sentence. 

That was exactly right, he nodded approvingly at her words. 

“I’m sorry so much happened while I was away.” 

“It’s ok, maybe you can pay me back for my break being ruined by letting me go early.”

She was grinning.

“Not a chance, there’s a lot of material to cover today. Consider it a reward that this lecture should be interesting for you.”

His shoulders slumped, but she was patting him on the back. 

“How about you switch seats with someone up front? That way it’s more comfortable.”

He didn’t want to, he liked sitting in the back. It made sneaking out easier, but she was trying to be nice and accommodating. He nodded his head while trying to look happy with the move. If he asked instead for his incriminator to be the one moved, it would only make him look shady and he’d had plenty of that for the day. 

“Thank you, Ms. Ciel…”

Taking his place in the first row, he had usurped the seat closest to the exit from Frost Man’s sibling. A minor victory, at least he could leave before the children made a mad dash for the door. He tried to look attentive as his teacher went through the lecture, using some help from Mr. Regal running the presentation on the sidelines. 

She hadn’t been lying, it was interesting. They were going into a genetics unit and that was providing ample reason to listen to her genuinely. 

Today wasn’t a complete waste after all. He’d have something positive to tell Rock and Roll later, namely that there was a scientific reason they all were terrible at singing and had less than proportional hands. 

\------------—————————————————————————————————————————————————————

“Let me walk you out, if that’s alright. You use the southwest exit, right? I’m meeting someone there and we can talk along the way.”

His science teacher was speaking with him again after the bell had rung. He wasn’t expecting that, getting distracted from his goal of leaving the academic institution as quickly as possible as he shoved his notebook inside his backpack. Rather than push his luck, and as he was still indebted to her for having rescued him earlier, he relented. 

“S-sure.”

His hands gripped the straps of his bag as they walked together. He kept his head low, responding to her questions quickly so as to avoid seeming ungrateful.

“You’re an interesting student, Blues, but I can tell you don’t like sitting here with us.”

“That’s not true--”

“You don’t have to lie, I won’t take it personally.”

He bit his lip. That was good because it wasn’t personal. 

“I used to be like you, if you don’t mind me bringing it up. Ancient history of course, but I hated grade school. If you can weather this time, once you get to the freedom of a university, I think you’ll really flourish. I expect to hear great things from you, Blues.”

He looked down uneasily. Dr. Cain would say similar things, but looking at X’s reaction as he got closer to his degree had been causing the younger boy to second guess school in general.

“Thank you, Ms. Ciel. I’ll remember that.”

“Relax, I won’t hold you to it. I just hope I get to see you again tomorrow.”

She smiled at him and he knew she meant it. He nodded, intending to run off but as he was turning, he walked face first into a much taller person. His glasses fell off, falling to the pavement. He moved his hands to pick them up, feeling his dizziness from earlier kicking in and destabilizing his posture. 

He felt the familiar pull of his body losing its balance that would lead to him making a heavy thud on the concrete. Blues braced himself, closing his eyes but the moment never came. There were strong arms holding him out of nowhere, he realized briefly he might have blacked out for a second. 

He glanced up in surprise to see the man that was currently causing his brother’s stress outside of his studies. 

“Sorry about that, little man. You alright?”

Zero’s voice was soothing, Ms. Ciel hovering behind him.

“Thank you Zero, you’re a lifesaver! How did you react that fast?”

Blues would like to know that as well. He was also curious as to why his mousy teacher would know the cool guy who lived down the street from him.

“At least I can do something right…”

“Don’t say that.”

“Then don’t listen.”

Blues could only half hear them speak, it was so odd that the man had history with people that was just barely out of X’s range. How old was Zero exactly? And Ms. Ciel for that matter? Thinking carefully (while feeling way too comfortable in the handsome man’s hold), he realized it might make sense if they had gone to highschool together. She couldn’t have been older than 30, same could be said with the elder Wily brother. From what he was able to learn by snooping around, they were both natives of this town. A small world, feeling increasingly smaller as he wiggled his way free from Zero’s arms. 

The blonde man watched him unsteadily stand on his legs with clear concern. 

“You heading home? I can drop you off, if you’d like.”

“I think you should, Zero. He doesn’t look good. You can call me later. Promise me that we’ll talk tonight.”

He looked at her, it was the first time Blues saw him look ashamed. 

The middle Light sibling didn’t like the arrangements being made on his behalf, but he allowed it since his legs were about to give way again. He sat himself on the ground, closing his eyes so he wouldn’t get any sicker from the swirling images in front of him. He listened to the voices talking above him, Ms. Ciel was making sure that Zero was familiar and comfortable with Blues’s family. It was odd hearing the stifled discomfort when Zero would say X’s name, he seemed to be avoiding it. 

“I’ll call his brother right now to let him know.”

“Is it alright if I speak with him, too? I’d like to let him know what happened today.”

Blues sat up too fast in an attempt to stop his teacher, but he toppled forward. Zero was quick once again, preventing any further bodily harm to occur. 

“Easy there...ok, we don’t need to tell X, but maybe you should once I get you home. Is that alright.”

He frowned, the adults looking at each other in mild amusement at the child pouting. He looked up at them, they looked strikingly like siblings because of the tied up blond hair and blue eyes. Like a two pack of dolls that he would buy for Roll when she was younger and still interested in that type of thing.

“Fine, but I’ll do the talking on my own behalf.”

\------------—————————————————————————————————————————————————————

“Proto Man?” Rock’s nose was scrunched in distaste for the new name. 

“Proto Man. Because he came before you, so he’s like ‘prototype Mega Man’, at least design wise. I thought it was clever, you two do look alike.” Roll’s response came out easily, though she could tell it didn’t warm her brother up to the name at all.

He folded his arms over his chest, frowning in thought. 

“But I like Break Man! Rock and Break go together, who doesn’t like to dance to music?”

Bass sat up to vocalize his question.

“Wait, that’s what the ‘Break’ in Break Man is for? I thought it was because he was better at breaking things than you!” The raven haired boy’s honest response was endearing to the Light siblings. Roll responded for the two of them.

“Maybe, but that might be because Blues is a little more clumsy than Rock. That wasn’t how his name came about, though. I wonder where he went...he said he would be busy today.”

“Something about getting taro buns for all of us once he was done with school...I think he might be having a rough time with a teacher again, knowing him.”

Bass laughed rudely once Rock was finished speaking. 

“That guy is amazing. Apparently he had Mr. King for a teacher, too! He wrote an essay telling him how much he hated him.” He said it with pride, almost as though Blues was also his older brother. An oddity that Rock found heartwarming, but he felt slightly left out that his friend knew something about his older brother he wasn’t aware of.

“How did you find that out?”

The taller boy brushed his fingers through his hair upward to comb back any loose strands on his forehead, taking his time in responding to Rock’s excitement. 

“He told me while you were asleep. We talk while you go to bed early like a brat, I felt bad he would spend so much time alone because you can’t stay up past 10.”

“I don’t like drinking coffee like you two! It makes me nervous… I read that it can make you angrier, too, so maybe you shouldn’t--” Rock realized too late that he shouldn’t have used that type of wording. He had to be more delicate with certain comments around the short fused boy.

“Maybe you shouldn’t tell me what to do! Not unless you have the strength to back that up!”

Roll leaned her head over in an attempt to get their attention back.

“Guys, can we relax please?”

Rock looked down guiltily while Bass snorted. 

“Ok, I’m sorry.”

“Whatever… I hope he comes back soon for you guys. X didn’t look so good.”

The mention of their eldest brother became the new focal point for Rock’s attention. He was also concerned for him, he hadn’t had much of a break since that outing with Axl a few weeks ago. 

“Dr. Light said we should let him sleep in today.”

“What a pushover---”

“He is not!” That was a snapping point for the shorter child, he didn’t mean to sound whiny when he defended his brother’s behavior. He wasn’t, he was just having a hard time. Couldn’t Bass understand that, of all people?

It seemed he didn’t, he was grinning evilly. As if preparing for a caricature, he shifted his expression to one that might have been intended to look worried. 

“ ‘Oh there you are, my dear! Would you like me to bring you the hot water bottle, my darling?’”

Rock could only stare at Bass. The bitterness wasn’t missed, even with the taller boy using a faux sing-song tone to mimic their father’s manner of speaking. 

Dr. Light was always like that, he was affectionate with his children because he loved them. Even when they had their shortcomings or they made mistakes, like when Rock used item-2 to---

“Do your parents not take care of you when you’re sick?” Roll’s voice caught the boys’ attention. Her question made Rock curious too, if a parent being sweet was a realm of territory that was alien to the Wily child. He couldn’t picture Dr. Wily ever saying anything half as loving as their father, but maybe Bass would surprise them.

He snorted at her words.

“I don’t get sick. I’m too powerful.”

That answered all of her other questions. He saw her look down at the pavement uneasily, deciding it would be a good idea to change the subject now. 

“Wouldn’t X be ‘Proto Man’, then? He’s the oldest.”

Rock raised his head in response. This was a topic he could go into for hours.

“Not quite, Mega Man X is a future robot. He’s like the upgraded model; his role is to ensure that the future isn’t disrupted by outside interference. He can’t change the past, but he’s there to lend a helping hand..” His reply sounded so casual, as though he must have explained this dozens of times. It was useless in ridding Bass of his confusion. 

“I don’t get that whole thing…”

Roll could tell the explanation had gone over the taller boy’s head. Considering the fact it was hard even for their own family to agree what X was, it was near impossible at times to explain to outsiders. That being said, Bass was turning into less of an outsider as the days passed by. It was a strange world they lived in; that had to be the reason the Mega Man world was even stranger. 

“I wonder how Splash is doing”

Rock glanced over at his sister, remembering that their mutual friends had gone on to other extracurricular activities once they went up to middle school.

“Oh yeah, she’s joined jazz band with Elec Man! When’s their concert, we should go!”

Roll smiled brightly, she had been hoping Rock would say that. 

“It’s a week after mine! She’s much better at singing than dancing, I don’t know why she insists on doing both!”

Her brother scowled at how dismissive she could be. Her and Blues, they held no hope for change or for a person to improve themself. And besides, what was so bad at being bad at something? He didn’t like disparaging remarks in that category. 

“You don’t have to be good at something to like it!” That was the best his mouth could filter out from the feelings burning in his chest. 

It seemed Bass was amused by his comment, chuckling softly.

“Yeah, Rock here is garbage at soccer.”

It was as close to support that he could expect from the taller boy.

“Ouch...but yeah, same idea.”

The comment had Roll thinking. It would do the elder boy some good to make more friends. Rock was clearly a good influence, he should welcome with open arms more opportunities. Especially when it was more than apparent he had a competitive streak.

“Why don’t you sign up for the team, Bass? I bet you’d get in easily.” She spoke clearly at him, hoping her meaning wasn't missed by the taller boy. He was a little dense, Rock had a hard time understanding his sister as well. When it dawned on him, it sparked something in his chest. He loved soccer in every form, even being on the sidelines cheering for someone. Bass should use it as a means of growing his support network.

“Oh yeah! Blues used to do it before his vagisil got bad.”

Roll and Bass went quiet, staring at Rock for a long time. It made the youngest Light brother uncomfortable, he didn’t know what he had said wrong. 

“...”

It took Roll several beats until she realized what word her brother had fumbled with. How on earth did he make that bad of a blunder was beyond her. She turned to speak with Bass since it was clear he needed an interpreter. Considering the disgusted look Bass was making, he might actually know what the word Rock was using meant. 

“... he means vertigo. What’s vagisil?”

Rather than address the question, Bass cleared his throat to respond to the sole Light sister.

“Can we change the subject? I don’t do well on teams, I like winning for myself!”

Rock could tell that his word choice (or lack thereof) had affected his sister and friend, instead going back to his initial thoughts on the whole ordeal. 

“Aw...I would’ve come cheered for you! All of us would!”

That caught Bass’s attention

“All the more reason I shouldn’t do it! Like hell I’d want you yelling for me!” He grinned as he spoke. He wasn’t a fan of audiences either, for that matter. The only opinion that mattered would never approve of rampant violence anyway, so he used that as justification not to approach the subject. 

Looking between the boys, Roll took a deep sigh. Of course Bass could be considered a friend now, but he had so many issues to work through that Rock was too dense to recognize. She instead decided to use a technique she saw X use all too often: When in doubt, bring up something that the person you’re talking to cares about the most. 

“What does Zero do?”

Bass locked eyes with her curiously.

“His job? He does a few things, I’m not---”

“No, I mean outside of work or school! X does a few things, he likes tinkering, then Blues has too many hobbies.”

Rock caught on to his sister’s questions, though he wasn’t completely clear on her intentions for doing so. It didn’t matter, he liked where this might lead them all.

“Oh, I’m curious too!”

Bass looked uneasily between the two children. 

“Well...he likes….uh…” He stammered out, unable to articulate coherently. 

He looked down at his hands. What did his brother like to do? It seemed like Zero knew everything about Bass, but his own knowledge was limited. He wasn’t even sure where his brother would go exactly, or what some of his side gigs were. 

He muttered out a response, struck in the middle by a sudden jolt of clarity. 

“He likes to keep himself busy----Oh, I know! He likes games.”

Rock’s eyes lit up. He knew the second he met him that Zero would be fun. 

“Games!! Us too, we should play Nintendo--”

Bass felt guilty that he would be the one to burst Rock’s bubble of imagination. 

“Not video games, but he does that with me sometimes. Mostly old stuff, like when he had to commute he would have us play City Country River. With our dad sometimes we would play cards...mostly it was Zero fighting him because I’d lose first.”

“You? Losing?”

Rock’s look of disbelief felt like a compliment to Bass. This one he preferred above most others the boy was all too eager to spout out. 

“Shocking, I know. The only person I’ll admit defeat to...but someday I’ll reach him.”

“That’s not like you.”

“What?”

Bass looked at Rock uneasily. It made him uncomfortable that the other sounded familiar to his mannerisms, though he wasn’t sure why. The shorter boy responded to clear up the confusion.

“Usually you would say ‘surpass’ or ‘beat’. But you just want to get there if it’s Zero at the end?”

“....you talk too much…”

The children were brought out of their conversation when they heard the door opening. 

X appeared, looking like himself again. The serious look on his face told his siblings that something must have happened, snapping him out of whatever funk he had been in.

“Sorry, mind if I pass through?”

Wordlessly, they all made a path for the eldest brother to walk through. They watched his back, Bass’s eyes going wide to see his own brother’s car pulling up in front of them.

Zero went out first, walking over to open the door for Blues but X beat him to it. He helped ease his brother, the middle Light brother trying to hide his shame when Rock and Roll were running up to see him.

“Blues! Are you alright?”

“Do you need more help, X? Should I get anything for him?”

All of his siblings were hovering over him and it was embarrassing that some of their neighbors walking by could see. Blues allowed Rock to hold his hand while X lowered himself so he could wrap an arm around his waist for balance. They moved slowly as a group, Bass not knowing what else to do but opening the door for them then getting out of the way. 

He turned around to figure out how his brother got involved, his confusion growing when it seemed Zero was preparing to leave.

“Wait, Zero! Where are you going, don’t you want to talk to X?”

Something was wrong, his brother didn’t turn around to face him. 

“Don’t need to, everything’s taken care of. I already spoke with him on the phone before I got here. The important thing is that Blues is safe.”

He turned around uneasily, Bass didn’t recognize the expression in his eyes. 

“Are you going to spend the afternoon here? I can order out if not…”

Something was definitely wrong, but it was going over the younger brother’s head. What he did know was that his brother’s tone was sounding similar to when he would run away. What the hell did X tell him? He had half a mind to march inside and demand an answer, but a confrontation when Blues was sick was a bad idea. 

It could wait. Right now, he should help his own family. 

“Let’s go, brother. I’m sick of these people.”

There was a shadow behind the forced smile Zero had on. 

“It’s alright if you want to stay, I can always watch over the fortress while you’re busy.”

His eyes seemed to get back some of their strength, most likely so Bass wouldn’t feel like he needed to leave. The younger brother looked back and forth between the Light home and Zero uneasily. The elder Wily sibling made the decision for him.

“Go keep Blues company, he had a rough day. He could use all of his friends. When you come back, I’ll be waiting.”

Rock was at the doorway when he saw Zero walk over to hug Bass tightly. The man brushed back his brother’s hair, patting his head for good measure before going back to his car. Bass was scowling at the loving gesture, but it made Rock happy. When the younger Wily brother saw that Rock had seen the whole thing, he glared at him.

“You ever speak of this to anyone, and I will personally never associate with you again.” He hissed. 

It annoyed him that the younger Light brother didn’t seem fazed at all. 

“You can trust me! Come on, Blues is gonna tell us about what happened today and we want you there, too!”

That made Bass and Zero do a double take. The blonde man froze, knowing that neither boys were paying attention to him anymore. He stood where he was, wanting to watch what his brother’s reaction would be. 

“...”

His head lowered, he ran inside of the Light house so Rock wouldn’t see his expression. The shorter boy followed after him, closing the door for good. 

Zero heard their footsteps pounding from his standing place, they were both running. He was happy for Bass. He sat in his car for a moment before driving off. 

It was just too bad he would most likely never be told the same thing by X, he thought to himself dejectedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, new chapter! Got a sudden drive to work on this one while I had the time, life was getting a little busy for a hot minute there. 
> 
> Zero: Or did you think I was too stupid to know what a you-googely was?
> 
> Ciel:....I really hope that's a side effect from the hibernation sickness.
> 
> What happened to Blues happened to me in college. It was my anxiety that was making me dizzy, not vertigo. Very embarrassing to have a group of 19+ aged people seeing my gameboy with harvest moon in it among 5 books I was reading.


	11. Mega Man VI

Roll felt confident in this part of her school day, more so than the others. It might have been because she was a Light and this teacher liked to say they were gifted at math, though she couldn’t be certain if that was true. Hard to escape the fact that most teachers were familiar with her family, and in that regard that meant there were expectations. Maybe they told her those compliments so she would feel compelled to work harder and be a well behaved student. It wasn’t like it was her favorite subject, especially when it seemed that teachers would try too hard to make tasks fun rather than explain how they actually would be useful. 

She wouldn’t learn anything of merit for a while, she knew that much. She didn’t go to school to be entertained but she felt like it would have been more enjoyable if there was an explanation given and the usefulness of what they were learning. Her eldest brothers sounded like they enjoyed learning more outside of the classroom than within, and she was beginning to suspect she might have the same problem. When Dr. Light would play documentaries related to his field, like how algebra was created, how electricity was discovered, that type of knowledge she absorbed attentively. When she told her teacher that algebra came from the middle east, her teacher said she wouldn’t learn algebra for a few more years. Until then, there was arithmetic.

As she counted down the minutes to the school day’s end, there was a fear building over what would come after. Today she would get to take part in the concert they had been practicing for so long, Mrs. Rafflesian said she had no reason to worry over them. After months of preparation, they were finally ready to show the final product of their labor. Roll didn’t feel the same way, especially when so many people would be watching. 

Dr. Light had managed to get the night off so he could attend, as well as the rest of her family. Somehow they were able to rope Bass into coming, primarily with the bonus of them all having another weekend of fun once it was over. It took a joint effort between Rock and Blues, done with good intentions, though Roll would have preferred they all didn’t come. It would be the three of them waiting to meet up with her once school was out, the dread of it all making it difficult to concentrate on the arithmetic worksheet on her desk. 

It took her awhile to come to terms with the fact that she didn’t want to be in the concert if it was this big. It would get loud and cluttered, an environment that was painful for herself and for Rock. As the date approached, it seemed she grew more insecure and paranoid, though she wasn’t sure why exactly at first. Her brother tried to ease her worries by saying it wouldn’t be himself watching his sister, it would be Mega Man. That would be enough to fight off his anxiety, though the same couldn’t be said for her own nerves. She was simply herself, with all her fears that she still didn’t know what to do with. Her words weren’t being registered by her brother, or if they were he wasn’t looking at the overarching problem.

It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy her dance class, she loved it. But what she loved the most about it was getting to do it in the safety of their classroom with her friends, not some dozens of adults she didn’t know in a room with all of her family staring at her. It was currently making her throat feel tight. She would rather sit quietly and stare at dozens of these repetitive exercises than to take part in the concert tonight. Maybe there was still time to get out of it...she could go to the nurse’s office and say she was sick, then have her father take her home early. The idea was appealing, spending some private time with Dr. Light before the rest of her family came home would be wonderful. She could tell him everything she learned, then hear what he knew on the subject.

As if reading her mind, the final bell rang for the day to signify she wasn’t free from time’s passage. Quickly saying her farewells to her teacher and classmates, Roll sprinted out the door, then across the school courtyard. It was too late to turn back now, she would have to go to the concert hall her peers would perform in. It would be letting her friends down and Mrs. Rafflesian if she tried to escape. That wasn’t fair to them. She tried to channel whatever it was Rock would do that allowed him to be brave. She wasn’t a fighting robot, but she was their assistant and she could help save the world. 

The sudden burst of energy helped her push past her peers, feeling some of her worries easing when she saw a familiar figure waiting for her. Her brother was standing by a large tree at the front of her school by himself. It was odd to find Rock alone, he answered her question before she could ask it.

“Bass was held after class to talk to a teacher and Blues said we should meet him at the place instead.”

She nodded, though she wasn’t sure what she was feeling at that moment. Her mind seemed outside of her body as a means of avoiding the anxiety within. She didn’t feel better, but she wasn’t feeling anything at all and she didn’t know if that was worse. Her brother didn’t seem to mind that her answers were monosyllabic as he spoke about his day. She dimly registered that Cut Man was defeated at recess and Rock forgot to return his weapon at the end of the school day. He trailed off after a few minutes, hoping his sister would have something to share in return. 

As they walked, Rock stared at his sister with increasing suspicion. She was seldom unhappy when it came to seeing Mrs. Rafflesian and her friends, making him frown in thought. She was also too quiet, she didn’t have a retort ready when he went as far as commenting that Mega Man would never get caught dead watching some silly dance. He paused for a moment, tugging at her sleeve when she kept walking without him. She stopped and turned to face him, remaining blank when he asked his question.

“Hey, you still in there? Is it about dancing in front of everyone, or something else?”

She exhaled, looking at the ground. He didn’t push, instead returning to their pace from before. As he saw her face get paler when they got closer to the location of Roll's performance, he tried to think back to how she had been acting since the date was set. It seemed she had been getting more worried for some time, but since they were all so busy and Roll was so thoughtful, so careful not to be a burden to anyone. It was like she didn’t want to take up any space if it meant bothering another.

Sometimes at her own expense. Whereas Rock was never shy to tell Dr. Light that he missed his father and wished they could spend more time together, Roll went out of her way to appear mature and tell the old man she would be waiting whenever he could.

All those times his sister had been distracted and nervously cleaning, sometimes several times over, as quiet as possible so no one would notice. Every instance she would ask if Rock really was ok with going to a concert that would be noisy and overpacked. The multiple times she went out of her way to be accomodating for her brothers. She wanted help but didn’t know how to ask for it, not wanting to cause problems for everyone when it seemed they were all struggling in one way or another. 

Problem was, he didn’t know how to go about it. All he could do was reach over to hold her hand, gently escorting her to the front steps of the large structure. Looking at the building, he could see how anyone would feel nervous in this environment. It was a place where professional musicians and performers were watched by large crowds. He felt smaller than usual, he was getting nervous just looking at the place. 

Before he could come up with words of support, a group of Roll’s peers were rushing over.

“Roll! You were almost late, we have to get dressed!”, a girl Rock didn’t recognize said while placing a hand on Roll’s arm to guide her. 

“Mrs. Rafflesian is waiting!”, chimed another stranger. The third girl Rock did know, smiling at the familiar face. Kalinka brightened at the youngest Light brother. 

“Hi Rock! We’re taking her with us, we’ll see you later!”, Kalinka winked at him. She ran off with the rest of the group, Rock watched as his sister glanced over one last time. Her eyes looked afraid.

He remained planted in his spot even after he couldn’t see his sister anymore. He was pulled away from his thoughts when he felt a hand swat at his back, not hard enough to hurt but enough to get his full attention. 

“You didn’t wait for me, you jerk!”, the taller boy seemed to be laughing as Rock stumbled to keep his footing. 

He could only stare at Bass, unable to laugh off the now playful way he would aggressively greet himself. The raven haired child spoke again, not needing a response or permission to continue talking.

“So, I heard you beat Cut Man again.”

His grin widened when he got Rock to smile. It didn’t suit him to be so sullen.

“Kind of, it was more like he asked me to hide his scissors so Mr. King wouldn’t take them away. These ones were used for sewing, they’re pretty sharp.”

He flipped his backpack over his chest so he could rummage for Cut Man’s weapon. He handed the hilt to Bass, being careful with the edge of the blades. They were sharp even when they were closed, the boys had to be weary of the sharp tip at the end. Bass whistled with approval as he inspected it, flipping it over several times and admiring the sheen.

“Now this could do some real damage! I’m surprised he managed to bring this to school! If I was caught carrying something like this, I’d be expelled for sure.”

Rock grabbed the scissors back, shaking his head. That was an awful thought to have.

“Don’t say that! I worry about you sometimes…”, his voice weakened at the end, feeling shy to admit that school had become more fun with Bass being a part of Mega Man’s adventures. 

Today was no different, the reason Bass had gotten in trouble was because when Rock looked over at his friend he stuck his tongue out. The teacher misunderstood the action and thought it was directed at himself. It seemed that Bass wasn’t holding a grudge against Rock, it looked like he was trying not to react to what the shorter boy had said. He waved it off, dismissing the words.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter. They can’t keep getting pissy with me when I’m passing now. Maybe your loser brother will get off my back when he sees my final report.”

“You like him. And we’ll have another fun weekend together!”

Rock smiled to himself. That was another small victory, Bass wasn’t angrily telling him never to insinuate they were friends or that he liked spending time at his house. The taller boy instead played it off as though he was bored, grumbling that they should find wherever it was they needed to sit so he didn’t have to spend a second longer hearing Rock get mushy.

Bass had a habit of running one step ahead, a reminder that he was faster and grinning when Rock would try to keep up. It turned into a game quickly, the floor at a checkered tile pattern that they would use as a part of it. They had to only step on the black ones, the white ones had ‘spikes’ and were instant death. Before they knew it, they were at the doors leading to the concert auditorium. A tall man was holding a door open, he smiled at the boys and gestured they could come in.

Once inside of the main room, the pair searched among the seats for Dr. Light. Rock was glad when he locked eyes with his father, running over to join the large man. Bass felt awkward watching him dash off, choosing to stay where he was standing. He watched the smile on Rock’s face grow when an arm wrapped around his shoulder to hug him against the large stomach. He laughed while trying to protest that he was too old for this, his father saying he could be 100 years old and still be his son. 

Rock pushed himself free, sheepishly turning over to see that Bass had left. That was odd, he was expecting to hear the boy make a snide remark or make fun of his father for being openly affectionate. Rock jerked his head around in the hopes of locating where his friend had wandered off to. Instead he found Blues walking over, taking his place on Dr. Light’s other side. X followed shortly after, sitting next to Blues. 

Rock didn’t sit down, getting worried when the lights started to dim. The large room was already filling up, making it hard for himself to focus on anything. He wanted to find Bass, it was the only coherent thought running through his head. He tugged at Dr. Light’s sleeve to get his attention.

“I’ll be right back.”

His father nodded, Blues having heard as well and whispered harshly at his younger brother.

“Hurry up! It’s about to begin.”

“I will!”

He ran off, politely maneuvering between the much larger bodies that were seated or searching for spare seats. There were so many people at this point, it was overwhelming. He kept himself grounded, focusing on the fact that his sister was trying to be brave right now. He had to find Bass.

Rock wasn’t sure where exactly the taller boy would have gone, looking down different hallways once he was away from the stage. There wasn’t any particular reason for him to choose one over another, his feet moving of their own accord. A door with a sign reading ‘Do Not Enter’ was at the side, he noticed it was partially open. Knowing his friend, he wouldn’t listen to restrictions made by people, let alone a door. He pushed it open slowly, making sure not to make any noise. 

It was dark once he was inside, noting that there were large curtains taking up most of the area. He could hear the voices from audience members speaking among each other on the other side. That didn’t bother him as much at this present moment, he had spotted Bass. His eyes narrowed, his friend wasn’t alone.

Rock glared at the older man.

“Dr. Wily!”

Even though he thought he had put enough volume behind his words, it wasn’t effective at getting either of them to notice. He didn’t like what he was hearing from their discussion. A hand shot forward to hold the boy by the arm.

“Zero said--”

“Then why did you call me? And I don’t care what was said, I made you! My word is above ---”

Rock didn’t have time to pay attention to the rest of the sentence, his feet moving of their own accord towards the back of the room. He heard hushed whispers, turning his head to find the source. Some of them he could recognize, among them were Kalinka and Splash.

From across the curtains, Rock spotted his sister hunched into herself. She was dressed for the performance but she didn’t look ready. He didn’t like that she was alone, perhaps it was unintentional. When she glanced up and spotted her brother, Roll didn’t think twice about running over to him. They looked at each other, then she followed Rock’s gaze over to see Bass trying to tug his arm free. They needed to come up with a plan, something big. Enough to get everyone distracted, then he could take action.

It would be tough figuring out what would get Bass and Roll out of this situation at the same time. He didn’t like having to choose one over the other, he just had to be smart enough. Thankfully, he had his partner by his side, she pointed her finger at a sandbag. 

“Do you think you could hit that?”

Thinking quickly, he remembered he still had the nerf gun his friend gave him in his backpack. Maybe...if he could aim just right…those sand bags looked pretty big, and he had watched a fair number of cartoons to have the general assumption they were important. Roll seemed positive that hitting them would be worth doing and he trusted her completely.

He took out the weapon, not worrying if an adult would walk by. Tilting his Mega Buster at an angle, he attached the scissors he had gotten from Cut Man to the end of his ammo with a hair tie. He was careful with the sharp end, knowing well if X or Blues were to walk in at that moment they would take away the weapon for good. It happened over the span of seconds, but it felt like he was under water. His movements were slow and automatic. He held his breath, surprised that his hands didn’t tremble. 

He shot off the dart, raising his fist then bringing it back to his chest in victory when it hit the desired target. The sandbag had been knocked over, falling quickly to the ground with an audible thud. It scared most of the people inside the building, creating a domino effect of the concert’s props to tumble forward as some of the curtains toppled down. In the chaos of the adults’ rising voices from their confusion, Rock saw the opportunity opening up to outsmart the old doctor. He rushed forward to grab Bass’s hand, pulling the taller boy away and out of sight from his arch enemy. 

Bass didn’t seem to mind, he really hadn’t wanted to go home. Zero had already given him permission to spend the weekend with the Lights, but seeing how the other family acted with each other made him remember that his own brother had been off. He couldn’t remember his phone number, only the house phone, and it was just his luck that his father would be the one to pick up. How he figured out where Bass was creeped him out.

It was annoying him that he had to be saved by Rock and his family again, of all people. He didn’t want to keep owing them. When they were at a safe distance, he angrily pulled his hand out of the boy’s grip. Rock looked over at him with a proud smile, not put off by the way Bass was fuming at him.

“I know, you don’t need my help--”

“Nor do I want it!” he hissed, Rock waving away his hostility.

“Right, but I did that for you and for Roll.”

“How--”

He pointed over to Roll looking at the toppled over props, ignoring the adults discussing with Mrs. Rafflesian their plans to either cancel the concert for the evening or call for an early intermission. One child tugged at the teacher’s shirt, pointing at a crumpled tree in the midst of the mess. 

“Mrs. Rafflesian? I think that one’s broken.”

“This one is ruined.” Another commented from her side.

She pursed her lips, sighing heavily as she looked between the children and the parents worried about the safety of the concert hall if something like this could happen. Seeing the amount of worry going on, she came to a decision that Roll couldn’t believe she heard. Mrs. Rafflesian put a hand up to her temple, then removed it as though she didn’t want to show her distress.

“It’s alright, I suppose it wasn’t meant to be tonight. We had rehearsed at our little studio, I thought it wouldn’t be much of a difference here. We won’t be able to get a reservation here again for a while...It might be better just to have a smaller concert at our main building.” 

Roll stopped paying attention after that. The youngest Light sibling lifted her head to lock eyes with her brother. She was smiling, running over to join them. 

“We did it! Can we go now?”

“Yeah! Let’s go find Dr. Light and get out of here.”

The trio rushed through the crowd, X glaring at them once they were reunited. Rock could only guess it was because they were all smiling even though this wasn’t a good situation. It was like he knew when they weren’t behaving. Blues was grinning behind him, Dr. Light remaining a peaceful neutral. Their father beat X to asking where they had been.

“I’m guessing the place you ran off to wasn’t at all involved with any of this happening?”

The youngest Light brother couldn’t lie to save his life. Roll knew this and worried they would all get into trouble, but Bass was ahead of them both.

“Naw, he was busy fighting with me. I was this close to finally finishing off the blue geek--”

Blues cut in, again trying to make sure X didn’t ask the right questions. It was clear he could read the guilt on Rock’s face, and even the slightest elevation in tone would be enough to make the boy incriminate himself.

“Sounds like fun, maybe Break Man should get revenge when we get home. The only person allowed to beat my brother is me!”

The boys were glaring at each other while smirking, Rock looking between them. He was distracted from his guilt, focused on the night ahead once they returned home. 

“Hold on just a minute! Isn’t it a little too convenient that--”, X was able to find his voice, but his father had placed a hand on his arm to quiet him.

“It’s alright, my dear. You look exhausted, let’s leave before the traffic traps us inside.”

The eldest son drooped his shoulders in defeat. He glanced over at the children several times, unable to stay angry when they were all happily talking among each other on what they should do first. Rock had a respective arm over Bass and Roll, looking proud to have these people on his side. 

The car ride itself was uneventful, Dr. Light offered advice on how the mechanics for certain abilities could work in Mega Man’s world when the children tried to come up with his next adventure. It was an unspoken agreement not to bring up item-2, but there were plans being made for item-4. Preferably it wouldn’t be an ability that Rush already had, which was difficult when the dog was so versatile. Roll had to laugh each time Bass would come up with a special name for what was the exact same ability for Treble. X was driving, grumbling lightly to himself that he lost a night of studying for nothing. It wasn’t serious, Blues caught his bluff without holding back.

“Yeah, because you love doing it so much! Why not take a break tonight and have some fun with us?”, he leaned over to tell his brother directly. 

X side eyed him, not taking the bait. A smirk grew on his face, making Rock and Bass freeze.

“Sure, right after I check to make sure everyone took care of their homework.”

The children remained silent for the rest of the ride and even once they were in the living room, hoping that they could sneak by unnoticed to Rock’s room. They froze in place when X’s voice could be heard from outside.

“First Roll, then I want to see Rock, then Bass!”

Bass counted himself lucky he was going last, that would buy him enough time to scramble through the rest of his work. Rock wouldn’t be so lucky, Bass waved off at him while sneering.

He placed himself in Blues’s room, turning the pages of his workbook and finding a bookmark that Zero gave him. Again he was reminded his brother was struggling and he didn’t know what to do. Ciel had swung by the other day, they were going to hang out again this weekend with Terra and Nour while Bass was away. It would be good for him, it would make sure he didn’t run away or fall too deeply into whatever it was bothering him. 

Flipping over the small piece of paper, he still remembered that something happened between the older siblings of their respective families that day that Blues had his episode. Even today, he saw first hand what Rock and Roll could come up with together, meaning it wasn’t just numbers that helped them get through problems. What was it they had that allowed them to actually work through things together when he couldn’t even get the courage to ask his brother what was making him sad. 

The bookmark wasn’t a regular piece of laminated paper, it was from one of Zero’s absences. It was covered in pieces of torn pages from different books, the words strung together to make a small poem. 

‘I should like to rise and go  
Where the golden apples grow’

His brother had gone somewhere far away, where they had a place called ‘The Last Bookstore’ that he said he wanted to bring Bass to someday. It had an art gallery above the bookstore, and the whole building seemed to be decorated using spare book parts. Bass said he wanted to go with him next time. Maybe they wouldn’t even have to come back, but of course Zero said they would always have to return home. 

Until the day their father wasn’t around, they were still a family. They may change, turn into different people, grow up and find friends, but they would always be connected that way. And Zero would also pick Bass over everyone else. Something big must have happened because the older brother had changed the most after that absence. He didn’t see any of his friends for a while, and their father didn’t speak to him for a year. 

Rock appeared after some time and broke the taller boy out of his memories, exhaling deeply in relief. He hadn’t finished everything, but enough to where he wouldn’t have to deal with X for long.

“I’m free, he told me to tell you you’re next.”

Bass nodded, he felt heavy when he stood up to leave.

He didn’t mind as much having to redo problems or step through them with the oldest Light brother. He did feel his rage building for another reason, trying to force it away. He didn’t need to be angry with the man when he didn’t even know what happened. Bass’s replies were short, something X picked up on when he would try to make things light hearted. The lack of response was worrying him. 

When they were finished, the boy couldn’t hold it in any longer. It was eating him up that the perfect family might have done something that shook his brother up. He took the opportunity to find out for himself once he was told he was free to go. 

“X, what happened with you and my brother?”

Bass asked softly. He felt uneasy about the whole thing, asking him for help with his studies was already painful enough but he still had a hard time trusting him. Any of them for that matter. True, they were his friends now, but what would happen tomorrow? Or after?

X looked shocked, the boy stared at him and watched his every move as X cleared his throat. It would be better if he told everything he knew since he wasn’t exactly sure what to make of that interaction, either. He did notice he didn’t receive any texts from Zero anymore. Not that X ever sent him a message that wasn’t as a response, though now he felt especially awkward to say anything. 

He was worried, it made sense the boy would feel that way. When Rock said he was glad X was back to himself, he felt guilty for not holding himself together. Bass was still looking at him intently, waiting patiently. It was out of character, making X feel even more uncomfortable.

“I didn’t...I don’t know what happened, either.”

*****************************************************************************

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His brother should have been taking his medication so this type of thing wouldn’t happen. He tried to keep his voice steady.

“Is he ok? Where are you now, I can go--”, He was interrupted by the deeper voice.

“It’s alright, I’m about to give him a ride. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him alone, and I wanted to let you know ahead of time…”

X paused, he didn’t recognize the slight shaking in Zero’s voice. He tried to write it off as the phone glitching. He appreciated that the man was there in time to help his brother, the guilt at avoiding him starting to sink heavily in his stomach. He struggled to find the words to convey his gratitude.

“That’s really nice of y---”

He wasn’t able to finish that sentence from the sudden outburst.

“Don’t say that! I am not a good person!”

It was blurted out, that much he knew. There was a pause where they were both silent but still on the phone. He could barely make out the other’s breathing, it seemed shallow. When he heard that the man had hung up, he wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t have long to think, Blues needed him right now. All of his family did, he needed to stop feeling sorry for himself. 

Those words scared him, that much he was certain of.

They were the same thoughts he struggled with when he quit the academy all those years ago.

He would try to figure out how to talk to Zero later.

***************************************************************************** 

“...”

X could tell Bass didn’t like hearing any of that. He didn’t blame him, X had half a mind to censor out what Zero had said but that would be lying to the boy. It was better to be transparent, adding in for clarification

“I’m sorry, I don’t hold it against him or anything. We all have bad days.”

“Then why didn’t you tell him that?”

Bass was glaring at him now, shaking slightly. X met his gaze and wondered the same thing. He lowered his eyes to look at his hands.

“...I don’t know. I was worried about Blues and I went into auto-pilot from there. I’ll talk to him later and apologize. I’m sorry.”

“For what?!”, He clenched his jaw, his gaze only hardening at X. The eldest Light brother was starting to think that the boy chose to get angry so he wouldn’t cry, since it seemed he was yelling more at himself than X. His rage was because this was someone older and he felt that X, being the perfect eldest brother of the perfect little family, should have been better prepared to help when Bass was a failure.

X stood up, placing himself on the side of the bed so he was next to Bass. 

“For letting you down. We’re friends too, right?”, he smiled warmly and put a hand on his shoulder. 

“I’ll try to make it right. Are we still cool?”

Bass jerked away from the gesture, his eyes were stinging. He ran out of the room, not wanting to see the hurt expression that was probably on the man’s face.

Bass wasn’t mad at X, not specifically. He was angry at himself because he was blind to his brother’s struggles and couldn’t figure out a way to help him. Also the fact that he probably felt the same ugly rage when someone would offer kind sentiments. It was looking like his elder sibling was getting trapped by something, the same feeling that would make him leave. Maybe he wouldn’t come back this time, even though he kept telling Bass that wouldn’t happen. 

He went down the hallway to the bathroom at the end so he could wash his face. He didn’t want the others to know how this was affecting himself, especially when he didn’t even know why he felt so helpless and the impulse to break something was becoming overwhelming. The feelings were there but the words to deal with it weren’t. Smash a vase, throw the dish holding a bar of soap on the floor. Something to make an impact and let them know he was pissed. With a strength he didn’t even know he had, Bass didn’t do any of that. He tried to remember to breath and waited until his face wasn't red and burning anymore before walking over to rejoin Rock and the others.

He found them all in Blues’s room, Rock and Roll were still sitting on the ground listening to their brother tell his traveling stories of the day. Bass situated himself on Rock’s right, listening as well and picking up on the fact that it was related to a Dr. Cain visit. Something about walking him to the community college where he worked and explaining that higher education didn’t have to be scary or unbearable, it could even be fun when handled healthily. 

Bass didn’t care much about any of that in the present moment. He remained still, listening but not taking part. He didn’t feel good, though he could tell the others were relieved the concert had ended early. Bass felt nothing after a while, resting his eyes so he wouldn’t have to spend anymore time thinking. His head felt heavy.

He must have been really tired, he felt Rock tapping his shoulder after some unknown time had passed. 

“Hey, you still with us? Let’s go get ready for bed, I’m exhausted too!”

Bass nodded, too tired to voice a reply.


	12. Mega Man VII

“What happened here?”

“...”

“I asked a question! Who are you and what happened here?!”

“Let the kid go, can’t you see he’s scared out of his mind?”

“Arrogant little asshole probably thinks he can get out of this by playing dumb! Can’t you see he’s wasted?”

“...”

“He’s shaking like a leaf, let the kid go!”

The other officer had to tear his partner off the shivering blonde. The boy’s arms wrapped around himself defensively, he hated cops. He didn’t trust either of these guys, the openly hostile or the one with the sympathetic voice. The less violent of the two kept turning back to him to make sure he wasn’t hurt, for a second the boy almost fell for it. But for all he knew, they were manipulating the entire scene so he would incriminate himself. He was reminded of that fact when the other officer barked out orders.

“State your name, age, and relation.”

The officer had the elderly man’s ID and held it up to confirm the name, looking over the boy and not seeing any resemblance. The boy remained mute, it wasn’t making his defense any better. Elderly abuse wasn’t something they could write off even though the officers were under the impression that it was a mishandling of medication gone wrong. The hostile officer was much taller than the boy and seemed to be made entirely of muscle. The less aggressive of the two didn’t like the contrast between his partner and the boy, he was so frail looking. His partner didn’t seem to care that the boy was shivering. 

“If we have to keep repeating ourselves, this only gets worse for you.”

He grabbed the boy by the hair and seemed to smirk when the other hissed in pain. He was too incapicatated to fight back, not that he would fare well in a fight with this guy. It would be two on one, but even just one of them would be more than enough to take himself down. His drunken state was diminishing as he felt the officer’s hot breath wafting towards his face. Releasing the boy, he barked out orders.

“Who are you and what the hell happened here!?”

“...”

If he kicked him down below…

He might not be able to win, but there was a chance he could get away. He might get killed but death sounded more pleasant than listening to this guy or having to go back home. He tried to step back, but the officer was quick to close the distance. He silently thanked whatever forces were above for helping him get clear headed so quickly, even though the grip on his arm was starting to hurt. He could feel the sweat collecting on his skin and shivered violently, the officer pulled him forward so they were face to face again.

“Who are you?”

He wasn’t sure of that answer, either. He had a name given by his father but it felt like it described a different person. Whoever he was on the inside, that name wasn’t himself. The boy knew he would pay for this later. Taking a deep breath, he went over his plan internally once more. He couldn’t afford to make a mistake. He glared at the officer with all of his hatred as he was shoved to the ground. 

“Figures… he’s nobody, you can see it with how he doesn’t even respect himself enough to do anything.”

Nothing, that was a good descriptor for what he was. He was nothing. When he wasn’t being treated in a similar fashion to what the officer was doing, his father would treat him like he wasn’t even there. Already these people were dismissing him. They might as well kill him, it would make the situation easier for everyone. But then the nicer officer was putting himself between the bad cop and himself. He was somehow larger than his aggressive partner, capable of sending a silent threat with his posture. His partner had veins appearing along his temple from anger but stood back.

“You’re an idiot, Sigma! This is the only way his type will listen!”

“Humor me, will you? I just want to talk.” 

The man named Sigma walked over, taking great care to present himself as gently as possible. He was going out of his way to help the boy feel calm.

“You’re not a bad one, are you?”

The tone was genuine. Something deep inside the boy could tell the man was looking through him, seeing the front he was carrying and trying to break through it. For a reason he didn’t understand, it angered him. He was completely sober.

“Let’s take you back to H.Q, ok? We’re not going to arrest you, but you’re a minor and it’s not safe to leave you alone. Is that alright?”

The boy would have preferred it had been the aggressive officer that went to touch him. It was the nicer one that softly put a hand on the side of the boy’s arm, leaving himself completely open.

The yell that followed after would remain in the boy’s memory for the rest of his life. 

It happened quickly, he wasn’t even sure of what he did exactly. He remembered lifting his shoulder to hit the officer in the nose, then there was blood. While he toppled over, the boy took the opening to grab his arm then twist it. After that, the rest was a blur. 

He didn’t mean to break the man’s arm but he didn’t feel guilty either. He didn’t feel anything at all at that moment, oddly enough. Guilt could catch up later, not at a time when survival was at the forefront of his mind. The boy shouldn’t have done that, he knew it. So he ran, taking advantage of the officer’s partner being distracted by the large man’s cries of pain. 

The boy wouldn’t see his father anytime soon. His hands were covered in blood, both from the police man and his own from before they had arrived. The adrenaline was the only force that allowed him to keep running

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sigma?”

“It’s a Greek letter, I thought it was clever at the time.”

“Shoot, he must be old by now…”

“Easy.”

“Right, sorry, sorry.”

“Anyway...he was never the same after that incident. I don’t know who that child was or the details, but they put my son on narcotics while he recovered and the rest was history.”

Blues and Terra looked at each other, the middle Light sibling turning back to his mug. Dr. Cain had mentioned his son a few times, though Blues had wondered why he was never around. It was starting to sound like the police for their town were cursed, seeing as what had happened with X and Dr. Cain’s only living family. 

Terra was the one to break the silence after a while.

“Do you still talk to him at all?”

There was a ghost of a smile on the elderly man’s face.

“Sometimes. It’s never about anything good.”

He had a dry laugh that Blues usually would find comforting, but he could hear the bitterness in his friend’s tone. Catching on to the boy’s discomfort, the old man composed himself to mask his pain.

“It’s alright, my boy. History can be good and bad, you’re well aware of that. I appreciate you making me come out of the house.”

“No problem, it was supposed to be my treat but this guy doesn’t know how to run a business.”, Blues gestured with his chin in Terra's direction, the green haired man winking at him. He had told them their money was no good here, especially since it was a long time that the doctor paid him a visit. 

“While you’re here, why not have a late lunch? Sunstar should be done with the oven by now.”, Terra had to grin at the end of his sentence when he saw Blues’s eyes widen at the mention of food. Without his glasses, his face gave away all of his emotions. That might have been why he preferred wearing them whenever he could. The old doctor also noticed, replying for the both of them.

“That would be a wonderful idea, but please let me pay for it! I’m the one here on a salary.”

When Dr. Cain laughed this time, it sounded like his usual self. Blues felt good at this moment with his friends, sitting together like this. X would come later to hang out for a bit once he was done with his own classes. Maybe then the boy could go fight with Mega Man to keep Forte in his place. 

The jerk kept thinking he could sneak his way out of fighting Break Man by declaring that Mega Man was the person he had to defeat first. He was currently outside yelling at Rock for whatever reason, it wasn’t serious though. Rock was still laughing so Blues felt no need to intervene. When he looked out the window, it was clear they needed to work together to defeat the Star Droids.

Despite the usual struggles that life would bring, Blues felt hopeful. In the grand scheme of it all, things were getting better and their routine was surviving in spite of their father’s absence. They were going to be ok. Hearing Rock and Roll having fun outside was enough proof for him. They had to be alright.

When Nour arrived with fresh breads and muffins, the middle Light brother wasn’t shy to help himself. The four of them ate together, it was a slow day at the cafe so there were no worries. The Star Droids were playing outside with Mega Man and Forte, Roll had to keep reminding them which weapons were actually effective against the planet robot masters. 

Something popped into Rock’s head, pulling him out of his role to voice his idea.

“Bass! Why don’t you come over with us? Then we can come up with a plan to protect the Earth! X can walk you home after.”

It was supposed to be a fun idea, but Rock didn’t like the hesitation that was on the taller boy’s face. Something had been off since the night that Roll’s concert was canceled, Blues told him not to push the subject. They would still play together but there were moments like this where Rock wasn’t sure what exactly the other was thinking. He was impassive when certain subjects were brought up, simple questions about his brother were ignored. Bass seemed to catch on to the worried look, returning to his default expression.

“Yeah, whatever.” He looked grumpy as he spoke, back to his usual tone. 

They returned to their game, Mercury hot on Mega Man’s tail while Forte handled Pluto. Rush and Treble weren’t really players this time around, sitting on both sides of Roll. The three of them were more interested in watching than participating. At some point, Roll realized X was sitting on her side, next to Rush. She wasn’t sure when exactly that happened, he seemed equally enamored with the show being put on. She liked the smile he made when Mega Man didn’t know the difference between oil and diesel, even though she didn’t know that either. 

Rock eventually noticed his oldest brother watching, pausing to wave at him enthusiastically, then returning to the fight at hand. He felt powerful with the audience, feeling an extra burst of energy seeing X happy. 

His brother didn’t seem to be at the same level of depression. He was functioning and keeping a strong face when they were all watching him. But just like before, Rock would find him hunched over a book in the middle of the night. His finals would come soon and it seemed that he was trying everything not to show how much it was affecting himself. If Mega Man trying not to die was a good distraction, Rock would put everything he could into it. 

It pained X to have to interrupt.

“As much as I hate to stop Mega Man from saving the world, it’s past 4 already. We should get going”, he meant what he said with the edge in his tone. Blues walked out in time to hear it, looking as disappointed as the rest of his siblings. 

“Come on, X. Can’t you go inside and have something to drink so they can finish their battle at least?”

Rock looked gratefully at Blues, the older boy looking smug. X couldn’t fight with that reasoning, though he didn’t like how it felt like he was losing to a teenager each time he relented to his brother. 

“Alright, but as soon as I’m done, we’re leaving.”

Coming inside to Terra, Nour, and Dr. Cain welcoming him made X feel a wave of gratitude. He hadn’t seen the doctor or his friends at first because of school, then his depression in the middle of the semester, then currently because finals were so close. His father was right, not balancing his life was taking its toll on his mental health. He had to keep it together until exams were over, then he could take care of his head. If he could even manage to pass...

As quickly as those feelings came, they were overpowered with guilt. He had a hard time meeting the old man’s gaze, staying quiet as Blues and Terra talked with the former archeologist about his past. When the doctor brought up how he barely passed when getting his degree, his comment about how X would never have to worry about those sentiments stung. His friends agreeing that the eldest Light brother was a genius felt even worse. 

When the conversation shifted over to the Wily family and how astonishing it was to watch Bass and Rock, X became hyper attentive.

"He's like his brother in a lot of ways...", the doctor mused while watching the boys yell at each other. Something about a mechanic not making sense to the taller boy and Rock laughing it off only escalated it. Terra grinned when he saw Bass lifting Rock back to his feet after the shorter boy had tripped.

"Kind of, I'd argue Bass is a lot less of a brat than Zero was."

That was an interesting thought. Dr. Cain nodded in agreement with Terra's observation.

"He was trouble, but he had a good heart."

"You can say that, you never had to fight the guy. Shit, I still have scarrs."

Terra was laughing it off, noticing the confused look X was giving him.

"He cooled off a lot after we met, it was a long process. Why don't you hit him up, X? I think it'd mean a lot...N-not that you have to, you know?"

His friend was trying not to put X on the spot, but it wasn't working. He might have had an idea why X wasn't talking much with Zero, but he didn't hear the full story. Mostly Zero being ashamed of himself and Ciel trying to remind him he was trying. Most reasonable people could see that, but X might have been too similar to the blonde to really see it. They were both grateful Dr. Cain didn't offer a comment, it suddenly felt unbearably awkward.

X downed his coffee at record speed, not even caring that he burned his tongue. It was too much being around people, he needed to get back to his studies and try not to be the biggest failure on the planet. He refused to run away from his dream this time.

“Well! It’s been great everyone, but we really should get going. Come on Blues.”

Gathering the rest of their family wasn’t difficult, Roll and Rock could tell X was in no mood. They followed him without needing to be told. Bass tagging along was no issue, though this time Rock was curious what X would do. They were bringing home their report cards today and Rock already had gotten an earful from his friend when he managed to get a better grade in writing. Rock had done better at math, but that wasn’t the point as far as Bass was concerned. 

It was hard to believe the school year was almost over already, summer bringing more time to play and potentially bring the boy along for a road trip. The idea of camping or a day trip up north were bounced around since the weeks leading up to their final school day. The car ride was full of Rock insisting that Bass should come to their traditional family outing in place of Dr. Light, urging Roll and Blues to back him up. 

“Come on!! You could even bring Zero, I haven’t seen him in forever! I bet he wants a rematch with Mega Man!”

Bass and X stilled at Rock’s idea. Blues chimed in, for once not noticing the shift in tone. Recalling what Terra had said, he was also thinking it would be beneficial to both parties if they brought Bass's older brother along. Blues liked him, too, and he was sure he had a good heart.

“I think that’s a great idea. X, you should ask him about it. I’m starting to hang out with your friends more than you do!”

X didn’t know how to respond to that, nodding but not really acknowledging what Blues was implying. He had been putting off talking to the man for so long, he felt awkward but this might be his best chance. He had made a promise to Bass that he would talk to his brother but actually doing it had been difficult. It was now his turn to be avoided, his texts were left on read and the man seemed to make great efforts not to get in X's way.

Maybe they could still be friends after all, if X could just get over his own angst. He'd have to try a little harder, and there was no guarantee he would succeed. Rejection was at the forefront of his mind, even though it's not like he had the guts to ask the other for a romantic relationship. Friendship was hard enough to envision. X was getting the feeling he wasn't good at anything... 

Thinking carefully back to the way his friends were talking about him at the cafe, how could he admit to anyone that he was most likely going to fail? What kind of a role model did that make him when he was always there to make sure his own family passed all their classes?

He was a hypocrite. And a failure. And someone that didn’t deserve how great his support network could be. At the very least he should let Zero know that he was sorry. 

“Yeah…”

Bass’s eyes went wide, his skin becoming paler when he heard X.

“Wait, what?”, the shock was apparent in his voice, though no one was sure what it meant. X hoped it was a good thing.

“Yeah, let’s ask your brother to come. If he can make the time, that is. I think it'd be a lot of fun.”

The remainder of the car ride was quiet, they arrived shortly after it was agreed upon that their trip could include all of the Wily siblings. The sadness at their father being unable to attend was overshadowed by the excitement Rock felt about having his friend tagging along. 

Once inside the house, Rock and Roll weren’t shy to hand over their report cards, Roll feeling extra proud that she had gotten perfect marks. Blues handed his own over, saying he knew he could have done better because of his attendance but quickly adding in that he still passed and therefore no one should give him any shit. Roll threatened to tell their father that he used that word, Blues huffing out an apology. 

X wasn’t expecting Bass to walk over with his own but it made him happy. Imagining a child that was more of a brat was near impossible, and X liked him for it. The boy wasn’t sure what force made him feel the need to show the marks to the man, looking at the ground when it was being inspected. 

Rock and Roll could tell it was getting tense, Blues motioned for them to follow him to their rooms. The dogs were in the back yard dozing with Tango, unaffected by the humans inside.

Rock looked between them all, eventually following his brother and sister but not before staring at Bass one more time. He shouldn’t have to worry, Rock thought to himself, not when he managed to do so well in spite of how bad he was doing before he started coming over to their house. It confused him, so he stood nearby in the hallway last minute.

“Wow, that’s an awesome score.”, even though it was said with complete honesty, Bass felt something ugly rising in his chest. The validation was pissing him off. 

“Whatever…”

It took everything for him not to yell. He really wanted to do something to wipe the smile off X’s face. Everything was becoming annoying, his voice especially. X knew the other wasn't the biggest fan of praise from outside forces, but this time he wanted Bass to really hear it. He had done well and those moments were the one that made X feel like he was doing the right thing. 

“I’m proud of you.”

“…..”

“You heard me. I know, you’re too cool for that kind of talk but I hope you know there are people rooting for you besides your family.”

“...”

“We’re friends, too, right?”

It was quiet for a few moments, though it felt longer for X. He was afraid he might have pushed his luck. He tried to get the boy's attention, but that seemed to make something snap in Bass. The boy gripped at the dinner table cloth and pulled at the fabric. 

The glasses on the table fell over and broke against the floor. X hadn’t realized it before, but his laptop with all of his work had been on the table as well and had also fallen over. He didn’t have any time to react, Bass stomped on the computer for good measure. The audible crunch and pieces sent flying making it clear he was intent on breaking it as well. It seemed that he was just bent on destroying whatever was in front of him. He grabbed his bag, slamming the door on his way out with enough force to make the house tremble. 

X didn’t expect him to react so violently, though he knew Bass wouldn’t accept the compliment. He didn’t know it would trigger something like this. There was a mess all over, now realizing his own siblings had run off. It was a smart move on their part, he would have had to tell at them to leave now that the floor was a safety hazard.

Dr. Light wasn’t here...how on Earth would he explain to him what just happened that wouldn’t result in permanent baring of the boy from their home. He felt like he was fucking up, wishing his father could have been the one talking to the boy instead. He had so much wisdom and always knew what to say, and X didn't. He couldn't even figure out how to help himself...a crude thought passed by stating that X only helped the boy to salvage his own ego.

It was clear he had serious issues to work through, X had wanted the boy to feel like he had a support network in his academics but it was the wrong thing to say. Not even thinking about how screwed he would be after losing all of the material required for his studies, X felt guilty for triggering Bass. He was running to grab his coat, trying to come up with the right words to convey how sorry he was. He was stopped by Rock holding his hands up, making him jump slightly in surprise.

There was a maturity on his youngest brother’s face that X almost didn’t recognize. He could’ve passed for Blues in that moment, seeming to have appeared out of nowhere with a new resolve.

“Let me go to talk to him.”

X frowned, there was a chance Bass could get violent with his younger brother.

“Hang on, I don’t think it’s a good id--”

“I think I know where he went, and it won’t be that far. Please, let me go help. He’s my friend!”

They stared at each other for a while, Rock almost thinking that X would tell him no anyway. He added in quickly, hoping his brother would understand why Rock had to do this.

"You can handle Zero, but I have to help Bass."

A smile broke out that took up Rock's entire face when he heard his brother's words.

“...call me in 15 minutes if you’re not back by then. Promise me you’ll be safe.”

“Of course! You can count on me!”

Rock rushed out, running down the sidewalk with determination powering his steps. He knew where the boy usually went when he was that angry, mostly from watching him from afar for so long. This time was different, he could talk to Bass now as his friend. Least, he hoped this didn’t ruin all the progress they had been making. He really didn’t like the idea of fighting Bass as Rock again. 

He spotted the boy sitting on a swingset in the park near their little suburb. Bass looked across the street, noticing the smaller boy approached him. His gaze hardened when his eyes locked with the other boy’s.

“Go away.”

“X didn’t mean to make you upset. You shouldn’t have done that.”

He noticed the confidence in Rock’s demeanor. It was as annoying as his brother had been, though this time he was too tired to do anything about it. 

“He’s an idiot, like you. Now get lost.”

Usually the shorter boy could brush away the insults, but this was different. He didn’t know why Bass being hurtful was affecting him so much, hearing his own voice shake when he started to protest. Maybe he was getting in over his head, but he refused to back down now. 

“Don’t!! Don’t say that about him! Why are you being mean when he likes to help everyone?! Why are you so difficult?”

Bass glared at him. His eyes were narrow and threatening, Rock really thought that he was about to sit up and hit him. Yes, Bass knew he was difficult to be around. That was why he was better off alone.

“You don’t have to talk to me. Neither does your loser family. I think it would be easier for you that way.”

“…..”

Rock held his fists at his sides, his entire body was trembling now. He was trying not to cry. He heard the mocking tone in Bass’s words when he spoke again.

“Done already? Then beat it.”

“....”

That time he looked back at him, staring into his eyes. It was unnerving having to see Rock’s face turning red as angry tears started to fall, Bass realized he'd never actually faced the shorter boy like this. 

“Are you crying? I said leave! I don’t feel bad and I don’t care, so go away!”

“.....”

The action that followed was a surprise to both of the children. In all of their years being classmates, the youngest Light brother had never hurt anyone for any reason, not even in self defense. But in that moment, Rock shoved the boy off of his seat. Bass wasn’t expecting a physical reaction, in all the times he’d physically hurt the smaller boy it was always one-sided. The raven haired boy stumbled onto his back. When he regained his bearings, he couldn't stop the smirk breaking on his face.

He knew it, he knew they weren’t perfect. They would eventually hate him, like everyone else did. It fed into that ugly feeling he felt earlier when he was around X.

“....so that’s your limit. You want to handle this my way!?”

He jumped up, making a dash for him and throwing Rock against the ground. He held him in place with one hand, pulling back his other into a fist in preamble. 

He paused when he saw the other boy’s face glaring up at him. He wasn’t afraid, there was only a pained expression mixed with frustration. It wasn’t even necessarily anger directed at the taller boy pinning him against the grass. He looked….

….like Zero…..when he slashed the tires of his car so he couldn’t leave….

He slammed his fist against the side of Rock’s head. Bass knew he hurt his hand, but he was angry and there was no outlet for it. He was heaving from the emotional onslaught. Was it pity? Disappointment? He couldn’t tell but he hated being looked at that way.

Rock caught on that he was hesitating, using a trick he learned from Blues to rotate their body weight so he could throw Bass off himself. The taller boy yelped, it pulled him out of his thoughts when Rock was holding him up by the collar and glaring into his face.

“Why do you want to hurt me?! You’re my friend!”

“No I’m not!”

“Liar!”

Bass shoved him away. 

“I hate you!”

It felt like his heart was breaking. The taller boy was shaking, not realizing that tears were falling down his cheeks. Rock had been crying the whole time they were violent but seeing how this was affecting Bass as well made his insides burn.

“No you don’t! You’re an awful liar!”

Bass looked at him, hoping the other would only see his rage but instead it seemed to only encourage Rock. 

“What is wrong with you? Are you deaf? I hate your fucking guts!”

He growled when Rock laughed at him. It looked bizarre with the tears in his eyes. Bass noticed that a few neighbor kids had walked by and watched them, running away when the raven haired boy made eye contact. Rock didn’t seem bothered. 

“You hurt me but you’re still my friend! And I’m still yours, so just get over yourself!”, Rock didn’t know where those words came from, but they felt appropriate. Seeing that it caused Bass to turn an even deeper red only cemented his determination. He was getting through to him but it was like chiseling at a boulder.

Bass tried to hit him but he dodged out of the way. 

“You stupid--”

“Please come home… we can apologize together, it’ll be ok.”

Rock doubted X would be angry with Bass. X was like himself, something that he didn’t realize was their greatest strength. He held firm even when Bass was yelling into his face. 

“How stupid do you th--”

“I know X, he doesn’t hold grudges. I don’t either, so you don’t have to be this way. It’ll be ok.”

“Why…”

Angry sobs followed as the raven haired boy slumped over. He felt helpless, he wasn’t sure why he even did that. Those feelings would come and he wouldn’t know what to do about it. To hear someone say that was ok, when it very clearly wasn’t, filled him with self loathing. It was outside of his reasoning for someone to forgive him so instantly, with no ulterior motive. Only Zero would, that was why he thought the world of him. But why...

“Why would you want me as a friend…”

Rock could barely hear him. He walked over slowly and embraced the taller boy, letting him cry into his shoulder. They stood there like that, in broad daylight hugging while Bass let out years of pent up grief. All the times that he was told he was bad, he was hopeless, an awful student and an even worse person. He deserved it when his peers gave him their backhand or teachers would give up on him and instead isolate the boy in the corner of the classroom. 

But then why did this family keep insisting that wasn’t true? That he should be treated like a person, of all things, that wouldn’t turn around and hurt them. If he wasn’t completely worthless, then why did others keep treating him that way? He gripped Rock’s shoulders to push him away, but found himself instead holding the other boy closer. It was sadness that he never allowed to present itself before, for his situation and how hopeless it felt when his brother was being treated horribly by their father. For when adults would treat him like he was less than other children or his father expressed disdain at his failures. 

Rock let him get it out. He didn’t understand fully what it must be like to be Bass. He didn’t have to, he could still be his friend and accept him. Even when the boy was trying so hard to push Rock’s limits. It was odd to think that there was that level of shame in a person, but that didn’t matter right now. There were neighbors staring at them, making Rock feel shy about the whole ordeal. Two boys that were fighting moments ago now crying and hugging, it made his own head feel heavy. 

“We can go home whenever you’re ready.”

Bass was too tired to keep fighting. He let Rock hold his hand as they walked back to the Light house together. 

He must have looked downright pathetic if X wasn’t showing any anger at seeing his face again. Or Rock was right, and these people were just that ridiculous with their boundaries. 

“Welcome back. You didn’t call me, Rock! I made dinner while you were gone, I was getting worried.”

Rock wiped away the tears at the side of his face, smiling as he tried to fight the trembling in his voice.

“I-it’s ok! We just needed to talk it out, right Bass?”

Looking between the two, it was like there were two Mega Mans staring him down. He stared at his shoes, mumbling when he spoke. 

“....I’m sorry.”

He started to cry again when X walked over to him. 

“It’s ok. I’m glad you came back. You’re always welcome here.”

This felt weird. X was in front of them now, looking carefully at the raven haired boy's side. Bass had forgotten about his hand, not realizing it was bleeding.

"Let's get you cleaned up, we can worry about the rest later." 

This time Bass looked up to face X, an idea hitting him. He rushed out to speak again.

“I---I can pay you back for all that! I’ll tell Zero or I can work it off---”, X wouldn’t let him finish, shaking his head. 

“I’ll handle it, you go wash up and rest. Rock, can you help him wrap up his hand? After that, you two look like you could use a break.”

The raven haired boy didn’t resist, going along with Rock to the bathroom so they could wipe away the sweat and tears from their fight. He couldn’t believe how they were all treating him. There wasn't the usual bravado that he didnt need a band aid, he hissed when Rock applied the antiseptic then covered the cut across his knuckles. Bass mumbled out a thank you.

"You're welcome! We're friends, right?"

He smiled in defeat. Yeah, they were. 

He would let it go for now. It was confusing and he didn’t understand any of the reasoning behind it exactly, but they were treating him like he was one of their own. And it was true, he would take a break for now. He didn’t even know what questions to ask or why this family was so crazy as to let him back in when he was acting like a rabid animal an hour or so ago. 

At the dinner table, the broken glass and laptop were long gone. Bass found out that Roll and X had cleaned it up, Blues reassuring him that they didn’t need to talk about it again. Not now, at least. 

They went back to the plans being made for their trip. 

X had called Zero while they were away. He was happy to report that he would be coming along as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Early chapter because I felt good and I had the free time. So in case anyone couldn’t tell, the chapter titles are in reference to one or two themes from the game that inspired me. Not that it matters, but I legit enjoy MM7 so I wanted to share that little tidbit. 
> 
> What a legend, Bass destroyed Dr. Light’s lab, betrayed Mega Man, and stole an important upgrade all in his very first appearance. All while having the chillest theme music.


	13. Mega Man Battle Network

Summer came and brought with it a heat wave. Everyone who graduated was excited on that last day, Rock and Roll had been rushing around, signing yearbooks with their peers. Rock was especially happy to overlook as Bass walked up to get his certificate. He hoped he felt the same amount of pride at how much change happened this year. Blues told them both he was glad they were one step closer to middle school, though Rock could tell he was fighting away his own nerves at high school being around the corner. X spent that evening brooding over how old his siblings were getting. 

Afterwards, Rock didn’t waste any time with Bass and Blues carefully working on the itinerary for their vacation. They had settled on camping, some time in an area with a creek would be a great way to leave the heat and this way they could bring the dogs along. There was going to be light humidity, but it would make sleeping outside more tolerable than being cooped up in the house for all of the break. The boys were free to go exploring, so long as they kept their location on to stop X from having a panic attack. It was a welcomed distraction from their father most likely spending the brunt of their vacation having to work. 

The only reason the youngest Light was absent from the process was because Roll had been invited last minute to spend time with Kalinka. She was offered to see the Cossack vacation house, which had a heated pool and hot tub, as well as a large ballroom where the girls could practice dancing or play together. The youngest Light sibling didn’t need much coaxing to jump at the opportunity. 

Roll told Rock that he could call her anytime, but he knew his sister probably would prefer the time away to spend with her friend. If she needed him, she would call. When the Cossacks arrived to pick her up that morning, she rushed through her goodbyes then promptly took her place next to her best friend. Roll waved from the window at her brothers, he felt a mixture of disappointment for not having his sister’s company as well as being happy that she would have her own adventure. Rock made her promise to tell him if anything exciting happened, to which she made him do the same. 

Dr. Light was there to see her off, he made sure to be present early so he could at least bid farewell and safe travels to all of his children. He left shortly after, but not before holding Rock close and telling him he was proud of his son. Once he was gone, his absence felt strong. It wasn’t getting any easier without his father, even with his friend and brothers nearby. Rock placed himself next to X at the kitchen table in the hopes it would settle both of their nerves. It was obvious by the fact that X was still studying and nervously biting at his pencil that he was struggling with discomfort. 

From what Rock overheard between X and their father the night before, it seemed there had been a major breakthrough at his workplace. Funding had been larger than they initially were promised, meaning that they could hire more people and from there things should get easier. Maybe some time by fall, Dr. Light would be able to spend more time with his family. His voice cracked at the end of that statement. It was clear he missed his children as much as they missed him. 

The large man trembled a bit, stumbling out that he was sorry. He didn’t know what he would do, how he had been so blessed with all of his children and that they deserved better. He would make it better, he promised that to his eldest son.

X broke his own composure, saying on behalf of all of their family that they would be alright but the redness in his eyes gave him away. He wanted them to be ok, which of course would shake him to his core that it felt like he didn’t always handle situations the best, but there was something the eldest Light sibling was struggling to hold back. Dr. Light hugged his son, Rock watched the exchange and was reminded of the promise he made to himself. He had to be stronger. His father and X were struggling with balancing their lives and the stress was affecting them. Even though he might not understand all of it or be mature enough, he still had to try.

That meant taking on more responsibilities, hoping that by not needing to rely nearly as much on his elder brothers, it would be enough to help X focus on his studies. Rock was becoming more mindful of the messes he would leave behind and preparing his own meals, even going so far as to remind X he still needed to eat. He was shocked when he found out how far his brother’s neglect for his bodily needs were becoming, thinking before that X’s lithe form was from him getting taller. 

Rock really really hoped it would work out in the meantime. The defeated, broken look on his brother when he tried to tell their father something wouldn’t leave his mind. Dr. Light tried to offer support and coax his eldest son that it was alright to say what he needed to, that there was never anything so bad or so shameful that his father would think less of him. It didn’t work, X remained mute. 

Rock didn’t know what it could be that was so difficult to share even with their father, but it had to be pretty bad. Blues and Roll were equally at a loss, and of course X’s friends would never tell the children. Based on Terra and Axl making equally helpless expressions when they would offer this answer, Rock was pretty sure they didn’t know either. It made him worried, it seemed it wouldn’t take much to put X back into one of his depressive states. It might be as bad as the one....No, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. X was more mature now, he kept saying as much.

Besides, there was one last hope and Rock was so sure it would work. Perhaps because he had faced Zero on the battlefield once before and found a strangely comforting energy from the man. It was hard to explain, stories from Bass about his older brother’s exploits might have also colored that judgement. The youngest Light brother felt as though Zero and X were meant to get along, like how Rock was sure that Bass was meant to be his friend. The tall man had to be especially strong if he was the sole defender against Dr. Wily, making him an ally to Mega Man as a byproduct. 

The Wily family being included on their family trip would be good for all of them. X could spend time with Zero and that would make the eldest Light brother feel better, leaving Rock to wonder why his brother was so hesitant about the subject. When Rock wanted to be friends with someone, he tried to spend more time with the person, not less. Blues told him certain types of friendships became more complicated with age, making Rock stick his tongue out at him. It didn’t need to be complicated, leading to Bass to respond that Zero was too much like himself. Meaning X might have to fight it out, the raven haired boy happily announcing that of course the result would be in his brother’s favor.

Said younger Wily brother was currently laying on the carpet of the living room with Treble and Rush on both his sides. He was playing video games with Blues, tilting his head awkwardly so he could view the screen from his position. It didn’t make much of a difference, Blues was winning. They were fairly certain Bass was only agreeing to the match because he was trying to hide how excited he was to have a trip with his brother. Rock caught a glimpse of it in the way the boy was rushing through packing away his supplies. 

They had finished filling up the RV Dr. Light had rented for the trip, the only thing left was waiting on the eldest Wily brother to arrive. It was fun for Rock to watch the way X seemed to jump in his seat when the doorbell rang. Bass and Blues made eye contact for a moment, then glanced at the door. The controllers were dropped immediately, there was a race between the three boys and the dogs to answer the door.

“He’s my brother!! I get to let him in!”

“Hang on, he saved my life! I want to see him first!”

X stood up abruptly, causing the trio to freeze just before getting to the door handle. Rush was barking at the entrance, Bass called Treble over to calm down his own dog. Blues reassuringly patted at Rush until he was quiet. The doorbell rang again, not unpleasantly but enough to remind those inside that someone was still there. They watched X reach for the handle, holding his head high and regaining his bearings. When he greeted the taller man, he was confident. It did well in hiding the internal conflict fighting in his mind.

“Zero…”

He nodded in response, Rock was confused once he noticed the slight hesitation on his face. Looking towards Bass for answers, he could tell the raven haired boy was preparing himself on the chance his brother needed something. When he walked through the doorway, the animals greeting him helped break some of the tension. The youngest Light brother felt a wave of pride from watching X press forward in spite of the uneasiness. The eldest Light spoke softly, waiting for Zero to finish rubbing the side of Treble’s neck. 

“Do you remember me?”

X was smiling now, the boys not understanding the inside joke that was happening and staring at each other helplessly. Bass was sure he never saw his brother look as conflicted as he did in that moment, not with his friends or former romantic interests. What made it weird was he looked sad but hopeful at the same time. There was more to it, but he couldn’t understand why or where it came from. It had to be related to that incident X told him, but didn’t they resolve it? Why else would Zero agree to be there? It didn’t help matters that Rock was at a loss as well. Their focus went back to Zero when he stood straight to reply, there was something somber in how he spoke.

“Yeah….I guess so….Sorry to cause you so much trouble.”

X placed a hand on his shoulder, welcoming the taller man into their home. It was different this time and X liked it this way. It was still uncomfortable as hell but at least the second time he had the blonde male as a guest was on his own terms. There wouldn’t be any surprises and that allowed him some confidence to face Zero head on.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m glad you could make it.”

He meant it, too, he was sure Blues would make fun of him later for how he felt himself glowing when his words made Zero smile. That didn’t matter just yet, he was getting lost in blues eyes that still showed shock at X’s daring. 

“I’m glad, too.”

Unable to contain himself any longer, Rock ran forward to place himself at X’s side, smiling up at the blonde.

“Zero!! It’s been forever, I missed you!!”

The boy’s honest display brought out a warmth in the taller man. 

“Rock! Now that’s how you make a guy feel welcomed!”

Zero allowed Rock to jump up into a bear hug. The small boy couldn’t help laughing the entire time, he liked that Zero was taller than X and could swoop him up over his shoulders. Blues had ran over to his side, allowing himself to have his hair tousled. Bass watched with narrowed eyes, he vocalized his irritation.

“Zero, you traitor!”

Holding steady a giggling Rock, Zero winked at Bass.

“We’re all on the same side. Besides, I haven’t gotten to see everyone in a while.”

“Ugh...whatever”, Bass huffed, putting his backpack over his shoulder while glaring at them. 

X walked over with his own carry on, smiling in spite of himself. His brothers and Bass were having a good time already. After putting the youngest Light brother back on the ground, Blues and Rock were glued to Zero’s hip, offering help as the eldest Wily brother packed his luggage into the side trunk. The man tried to tell the boys they didn’t have to help him, but Blues shut him up quickly when he brought up that he still owed Zero one. 

“Tch, as if this makes you equal. He saved your life!”, Bass said before his brother could respond. It was meant as a way of boasting his brother’s kindness, but being reminded of the incident made Zero uneasy. 

“Hang on, I didn’t--”

“Friends don’t do something like that and expect anything in return! Zero is our friend, like you are!”, Rock spoke up in his defense. Judging by the look of relief on the tall man’s face, it was the right thing to do. X had been maneuvering his way past them, making a beeline for the car while addressing the group.

“Easy, we haven’t even left yet.”, X said half heartedly, leading to Bass rolling his eyes and Blues shrugging nonchalantly. 

“It’s more fun this way, X. You can take a break from being super mom this one time.”

The eldest Light brother side eyed his brother, ignoring the comment as he walked towards the driver’s seat. He was focused primarily on making sure they took care of everything, causing him to almost walk into the other man. The blonde was in front of the vehicle door, right across from him. He stood there awkwardly, most likely having a similar thought process to the shorter man. He watched as X mumbled out an apology. He raised a hand to stop it, attempting to smile in a way that eased the shorter man’s nerves.

“I can drive going, if you’d like. You look tired…”

He frowned at the dark circles under X’s eyes. The eldest Light brother tried to hide his discomfort, not wanting to make their situation any more uncomfortable than it already was. As it stands, he was grateful to have his family present so he could act brave. His brain made a mental emphasis on ‘act’. If the taller man was seeing through it, he did a good job of hiding it.

Allowing Zero to take the wheel didn’t make much of a difference, X couldn’t sleep once they started moving. He had trouble resting in vehicles, driving in general would give him a burst of energy. Hearing Rock and Bass with the dogs excitedly exploring the back of the RV was comforting. He saw from the reflection on the passenger window Blues sitting quietly with a book, realizing at some point his brother had brought Tango along. The cat was dozing on the table, letting Blues stroke at the fur with his free hand.

It was weird for X, letting someone else get them there. Usually if he was involved, he ended up taking the wheel to give Dr. Light a break. His father didn’t mind having X drive as soon as he obtained his license years ago, at first it made Blues uneasy. Rock was nervous of most everything back then, and Roll was too young to notice a difference. Eventually their family realized the first born son was a natural and there was no need to worry. 

Getting his motorcycle license had been even easier, though to this day his father still disapproved. It was his one form of disobedience, even though he knew Dr. Light meant well and it was a dangerous way of travel. He liked the freedom that was brought in having his own vehicle and being able to go anywhere he wanted. Watching the natural way Zero relaxed once he was behind the wheel, X got the impression he felt the same way. Perhaps moreso, he had no idea what it would be like having to deal with Dr. Wily. 

He hoped his ‘partner’ didn’t feel X’s gaze every so often, he had no issue moving the large vehicle through the light traffic. X tried to come up with a script for when they had set up camp, they had all agreed they would sleep outside on the days the weather was nice. Meaning he would most likely be sharing a tent with the other adult. Alone.

The eldest Light brother was suddenly reminded that he still hadn’t told Zero about Bass’s explosion. He hadn’t told anyone for that matter, not seeing it necessary to tell Dr. Light why they were missing some dishes and glasses. It would have compromised the boy’s standing within their household, and that would have in turn made Rock sad. It hadn’t been that long since then, but X decided it would be better if he left that for Bass to disclose. 

The phone call for the respective eldests was blunt and quick, X asked Zero how he was doing, Zero said good then asked him the same, X lied through his teeth and said he was also good. He asked if the other would be open to Bass traveling with them during their vacation and Zero was welcome to come along as well. There was a pause that made X think he would say no, but he was relieved when the other let out that he could get a few days away from work. It would be nice getting to spend time with his brother and his friends. He thanked X for thinking of him. X really wanted to tell him then and there he thought about him too much, pushing it away by rushing out ‘Sounds good then! Talk to you later!’.

Afterward, salvaging the remains of his laptop made it clear it was broken beyond repair, amazing X at how strong the child was. It also meant that a good portion of his notes and studying material was gone. He harbored no ill will in that regard, only at himself for not having backed up all of his files when he had the chance. The eldest Light brother had gotten a new laptop since then, slowly remaking his notes and rebuilding projects he had lost. He tried to tell himself it was a good way to study, even though he had missed deadlines to turn in a few assignments as a consequence.

He was still coming to terms with the fact that he was going to fail. There was no denying it or hoping that last minute he could squeeze through, he didn’t make the grades that he needed to pass. It was like his early police academy days all over again, where he was considered the weak link of the group. His training officer yelled in his face more than once that he was useless, asking if he really expected to succeed if he couldn’t handle even smaller challenges in life. He could hear that same tone in his head each time he was given back a failing grade. Somehow he was able to pull through and pass back then, why couldn’t he muster that same grit now?

Maybe this was wrong for him…

Maybe they had been right and all he was good for was fighting. That defeated thought made him shiver, thankful no one noticed. He looked at Zero once more, appreciating when their eyes met and he smiled his way. 

He was still the most beautiful man X had ever met. And he really wanted him to be his friend. Watching how brave Rock had been inspired that desire in X. If his brother could do it after fighting away his own insecurities, there should be hope for himself. If he wanted to…

If he could just let himself. He would try not to let his dejection over his academics get in the way.

During the planning process, Bass had mentioned an area he wanted to explore. Zero had been there, there was a hiking trail that led up to a waterfall. Even though the raven haired boy had only seen pictures, the description as well as the excitement he held bringing up the possibilities was plenty to convince Rock they should go there. During the 4 hour drive, the boys eventually tired themselves out. Rock and Bass were sleeping in their seats, Blues resting his head on the window and breathing softly. It was quiet and safe, enough to where X could let himself close his eyes for a moment. 

He must have dozed off at some point, feeling Rock touching his shoulder to get his attention.

“Hey, we’re here! Let’s go set up!”

He nodded at his brother, stretching to wake himself up completely. Stepping out of the vehicle, there was still plenty of sunshine. It was only midday at this point, giving Rock and the others plenty of time to explore after they had established camp. 

As they unpacked, the group of boys followed Zero. It had been years since the blonde had been here but they viewed him as a source of wisdom. X could tell the wave of questions from Blues and Rock were making the man slightly uncomfortable. He found himself respecting his attempt to answer them all and keeping his composure. 

“Did you come here alone?”, Blues asked politely, keeping up with Zero’s pace while the younger boys struggled. The blonde noticed and slowed himself down, setting down the materials for a tent while responding to the question.

“No, I was with a girlfriend at the time and her brother.”

“What was your favorite part?”

“I don’t remember a lot of what we did, I thought taking pictures would help but I guess it didn’t do much good.”

“Why didn’t you bring Bass?”, the boldness of that statement from Rock made Blues feel secondhand embarrassment. Zero was unfazed.

“I wasn’t allowed to take him anywhere back then, our dad thought I would ruin him.”

“It was stupid of him”, Bass added in.

Rock was still confused, his mouth running before his head could keep up.

“Why is Dr. Wily so mean?”

The youngest Light brother realized what he said was rude as the words came out, feeling guilty that he caused Zero to look down steadily. The man shook his head then faced Rock the best he could. 

“He’s in a lot of pain…T-that’s not an excuse of course, but I try not to take what he says personally. Thankfully he knows better than to bother Bass when I’m around.”

Blues and Rock noticed how the declaration made Bass slightly embarrassed. He did a good job keeping his face stoic, but his ears turning red gave it away. 

“I can take care of myself”, the younger Wily brother mumbled under his breath. Out of respect, no one contradicted him. It did warm Rock’s chest watching Zero slow down his pace so he was walking side by side with his family. He reached over to hold his hand. Rock always thought Bass’s hands were fairly large but they were covered by Zero’s. 

Liking the sense of unity going on, Rock rushed forward so he was on Bass’s other side. Not letting the boy protest his presence, he took his free hand. There was a disgruntled resignation on Bass’s face from all the support. It didn’t feel bad necessarily. Having more than just Zero in his heart still felt alien, but Rock was hell bent on prying his way in. 

They all did. They really did still accept him, no one was holding his tantrum against him. He shook his hands free to run back to the car to get more of their luggage, Rock looking up at Zero apologetically then rushing off to join the other boy. 

There wasn’t a need for much organization in setting up, the Lights were familiar with camping in general. Rock didn’t mind that Bass tried to make a competition out of laying out supplies, then getting firewood. It made things entertaining having his friend engaging in Mega Man adventures in a new setting. One of them would get Wood Man’s ability, even without Rock’s friend who took on the role present. 

When they returned to camp, the boys realized they had used the entirety of the afternoon playing. There was a light inside the tent they would be sharing with Blues, Rock not being surprised to find his brother already comfortable in his sleeping bag with the dogs resting on his sides. He glanced up from his book to acknowledge the younger boys.

“You certainly had fun.”

“I like it out here. Bass’s idea to explore this place has been fun so far”, Rock responded enthusiastically. He still had an abundance of energy, even after hiking around with the taller boy. Bass was exhausted, from Rock’s perkiness and having to match his speed. 

“Whatever...since we’re here, maybe Blues can share one of his stupid stories.”

That caught both of their attention, Blues placed his book down to look between the younger boys. 

“If that’s what you want--”, he was cut off by Rock.

“I do too! Not anything scary, though”, his younger brother felt it was necessary to add in, that way he would be able to sleep later on. It made Blues laugh at him.

“That’s the point of camping, it has to be something exciting at least! It won’t be outright terrifying, sound good?”

“Yes!”

The trio sat in a circle, Bass and Rock watching Blues. His hands gestured appropriately as he wove the thread for the time that him and Rock were still in the same school. It was a memory that Rock had blocked out, feeling it hard to confirm the details when Blues would mention his role. The younger boy had a panic attack during an assembly, the school’s auditorium was filled with all of the grade levels. 

Rock hadn’t realized how many events were happening in the background. From what Blues recollected, there had been teachers fighting among each other, students were frantically moving and yelling, the principal shaking her head in disapproval, and the middle Light brother really wanted any excuse to leave. Unfortunately, a certain boy was turning paler by the minute, stopping Blues’s plan to exit in the midst of all the chaos.

Mega Man was still fairly new, still an unsure coping mechanism. It was Break Man’s first introduction, showing up in time before to catch his brother when he passed out. When the elder sibling appeared with his sunglasses and his bandanna covering his mouth, whispering they needed to move, it snapped Rock out of his trance. Rock rarely missed school, his exceptions were illness or emergencies. His brother’s urgency and his own sick feeling broke his resolve away from staying in the auditorium. 

While they recounted the event, Bass felt his exhaustion overpowering his desire to hear how things turned out. He tried to keep his eyes open but it was hard to stay upright. He relaxed against Treble, still hearing Blues’s voice. 

Something about the way he described his responsibility for Rock. There was no resentment, even when he would teasingly complain how he hated that school day and would have had a much better time if he had been smart enough to ditch earlier. But of course, he couldn’t turn his back even if he wanted to. Even heroes needed their own heroes. Not that Break Man would go out of his way to save people from evil scientists or alien robots like Mega Man did, he liked having his freedom too much. His exception was when Mega Man would get careless and let down his guard.

Rock would do the same for him, the younger brother mentioning how he returned the favor years later when Blues forgot to take his medication. That one led to another rare occasion of Rock playing hookie, X had a field day later. Dr. Light laughed after he heard the boys plead their case. Blues even offered to teach Rock whatever lessons he might have missed that day. It was similar to the event where Zero had to save the middle Light brother, only Rock had to break Blues’s fall using a mixture of their backpacks and his body weight. 

The raven haired boy liked those stories…

Blues had a soothing voice, too… and as much as he didn’t like saying it out loud, he liked having Rock around. He was glad they were friends. What used to make him burn inside with irritation, the way that other children seemed to flock to the odd boy’s side to take part in his world, it didn’t bother him at all anymore. 

The raven haired boy was comfortable against his dog and he was safe.

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The old man’s face had disgust plainly evident. His son had his fists tight into balls at his side. It looked as though he was willing himself not to react. The rejection should have been expected at this point, the old man was never one to approve of anything that didn’t follow his orders.

The boy felt afraid from the initial yelling, he knew it would be better not to get involved. It would only upset them both. It scared him how when his brother looked up at their father, he was smirking. It was as though he wanted it to be like this, for a fight to break out where he would be required to hold his own ground. If it was a mask, it was convincing. 

That side of him made the boy scared. The one that had no problem fighting if the opportunity presented itself. 

“Yeah, I don’t really give a shit.”

He laughed a bit but it was cut short. He jerked back when the elderly figure approached him.

“Don’t touch me.”

“You belong to me, I can do whatever I want to you.”

The boy could do nothing but run away. He couldn’t do anything to help his older sibling. Trying not to direct any attention on himself, he heard their father speaking in a low voice. 

“Don’t forget that.”

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He bolted upright when he realized he had been asleep. Bass looked around, the only living being besides himself in the tent was Treble. He stood up to look outside, his dog following close behind. 

He walked past the other tent, hearing his brother’s voice within. He wasn’t sure what force told him to remain still.

“It’s alright, really.”

“If you say so…”

Bass wasn’t sure what they were referring to, if he had to guess it might have been about his brother’s occasional breaking point. It was too much of a coincidence that both of them snapped at X, though when he wandered over to tug at the tent opening, he froze when Zero spoke again.

“Um...I should probably apologize.”

X looked up curiously.

“You already did---?”

He wasn’t given much room to ask for clarification, the other man made a small exhale of frustration. 

“You don’t have to dance around it, I remember what started all of this.” 

The eldest Light brother genuinely had no idea what Zero was talking about, making the taller man sit upright so they were facing each other. 

“I was high and I made a stupid move. That’s not an excuse, I want to take responsibility for it and say I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable. I don’t blame you if you don’t want to see me after this, but I at least wanted to let you know so you didn’t have to keep yourself locked in your house. I’ll stay out of your way-”, The onslaught helped X recall what Zero was referring to, his eyes going wide at what their miscommunication had caused.

Bass didn’t know what to make of it, unable to imagine his brother ever disrespecting a person’s boundary. There were exceptions of course, but mostly only to defend those who couldn’t protect themself. He could just barely make out their figures between the folds.

“No! That’s not what happened at all! I mean--uh. You didn’t make me uncomfortable, if that’s what this is about!” 

Bass was relieved to hear that, there was no way his brother would have that effect on X.

It was mostly true. It was a stretch out of X’s comfort zone but not in a bad way. The blonde didn’t look like he believed him. 

“Really? Because it felt like you didn’t want to see me again…”

“That’s!! Look... it’s not what you did, it’s me, ok? I’ve never had a hot guy even acknowledge that I exist, and I have no experience at all with how to handle it! Frankly, I feel the exact same when I’m taking a test I’m not prepared for everytime I interact with you! I wish I could’ve responded better, but I’m a chicken shit.”

Bass had to cover his mouth with his hands to stop the laughter that was threatening to spill over from X’s word choice. 

That made Zero laugh a bit, X was smiling too. It was more of a ‘this is uncomfortable and the situation sounds ridiculous now that we’re saying it out loud’ kind of smile. For Zero, he looked as though an anvil had just been lifted off of him. 

“You’re definitely not that…I guess we both misread this pretty bad, huh?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how much of an idiot I’ve been making of myself”, X had to look at him in disbelief. It felt like everyone else had been laughing at him because of his inability to handle certain situations. 

“I didn’t, actually. I thought you might have been upset after you pretended nothing happened…”

“After I pretended nothing happened? Just me?” 

X crossed his arms while staring Zero down. It made the blonde look at the floor, realizing he could have just as easily been direct earlier. They were both at fault for running away from the issue. 

“Ok, I’m guilty too, I know. I’m sure you can understand rejection isn’t the easiest thing to stomach.”

“Shit...that’s not what I meant for you to think at all…”

They looked at each other, it was deadly silent. 

“....so you think I’m hot”

“You can’t be shocked when you’re an underwear model, of all things.”

There was a moment of Zero looking shocked, then it was overpowered by something else. X couldn’t read it until the other was laughing lightly.

“That’s subjective, I just happened to have a look some photographers liked enough to want in their fashion lines. Having you say it means something else. It’s interesting though...I don’t remember telling you I did underwear modeling specifically, and I definitely never shared that little fact with Terra.”

“I---I---oh fuck…”

X didn’t realize that fact, either. He was hoping he would never have to live through this moment, it could easily turn into a nightmare. Least, he felt that way initially, for whatever reason Zero didn’t seem disgusted or offended.

“Relax, it’s fine. I put on some weight since then, I just hope you didn’t get disappointed when you met the real thing--”

“Never!!!”, the words came out impulsively.

Zero laughed at the outburst, the shorter man blushing bright red. Zero was also blushing, this entire exchange had been uncomfortable but the fact that they could laugh at each other over their mutual idiocy made it easier to handle. He composed himself enough to smile warmly at the shorter man.

“I really like you, X.”

Those words brought back the fuzziness X felt so long ago when the other made a pass. Thinking back on it, it seemed like there were multiple times Zero tried to get X’s attention but he was so caught up in his own problems to notice. 

“I like you, too. You’re so cool, you can’t blame me for thinking you weren’t seriously interested in me!”

“Why? You’re pretty incredible, I’m sure the only reason you don’t get asked out more is people are afraid of looking dumb when they talk to you.”

“D-did you feel that way?”, it was an odd thought. X felt like he was the one that made himself look like an idiot half of the time. The blonde broke out into a grin.

“Well...I’m a bit more confident than that, but you were acting pretty awkward with me. That made it a bit easier at first.”

Zero felt like he had made a mistake when X exhaled deeply. He rested his head on a closed fist, staring up at the ceiling of the tent. Something told him he could be open with Zero, his presence was becoming relaxing the more they talked.

“You know, I've been called an awkward nerd since forever. But I--I…” 

He paused, waiting for Zero to confirm his words. Or make some kind of comment, X wasn’t sure what to expect. The other had an reassuring expression, leaving it open for X to continue. That was enough to break down reservations.

“I’m failing...I failed my dad and everyone else again… I didn’t want to see anyone, not just you. When I get like this, I’m...I’m not exactly fun to be around. It’s hard to face the fact that I can’t do anything right.”

It was a first for X to talk with someone like this, Zero could tell he wasn’t used to being on this side. X felt like he had to be strong in front of his friends and his family. It was only once that he had to admit getting in over his head to his father, but of course the elderly man responded with love and acceptance. X felt like he didn’t deserve that now.

“It’s not like you’re taking easy classes, and I’m sure there are other people in a similar boat who are just happy to pass. You realize a lot of these people are either retaking the class or do nothing but study all day, right?”

“I get that but, listen...nerds are supposed to be smart. I keep getting told I’m a genius, and it doesn’t help when people know my dad. They think I should just get things naturally, then there’s extra pressure for me to be the best. I felt awful when a professor who knew my father pulled me aside to say I should spend more time with his TA’s if I’m struggling this much with the basics…”

“It sounds like he cared about you.”

“I know, I know, it came from a good place but I just...I felt like a failure...I still do. I can’t even talk to anyone about this because I feel like I’d be admitting I chose the wrong career path.”

“For what it’s worth, I flunked all of my first semester of upper division work. I thought about dropping out, but then for some reason I just kept showing up. I retook everything with the same professors, and they all said how relieved they were that I came back...it was weird since I wasn’t used to adults caring about me. I don’t know if you heard from Terra but I wasn’t always the best kid…”

“I didn’t hear much, I try not to talk about people’s history unless they’re in the room.”

“Well...anyway...I guess what helped me press through was because of professors and people like you around. There was this one tutor I would go to all the time and he would help me out no matter how much of an idiot I felt like. Somehow I got out of there, and now I make 6 figures so…”

Zero gestured vaguely at himself with his hands, X not understanding his meaning.

“So, what?”

“So, you gotta keep going if this is the path you want to follow. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s ok because there are people who care and won’t think any less of you for failing. You wouldn’t hold it against any of the students you help, so maybe back off with the whole ‘I suck’ thing and remember you deserve the same understanding. Make sense?”

“I think so...thanks Zero”

“You’re welcome. Now can we let go of how awkward it’s been between us? I’d like to take you on a proper date, if you’re up for it. If we’re both stupid that should mean we’d make a pretty good match.”

At the conversation turning into something like this, Bass walked away with Treble. He could feel his face burning, it was embarrassing to watch. He thought he could hear the other Light brothers somewhere around here. 

X was left feeling like he must have misheard. Zero was blushing, a hand scratching behind his head while he closed his eyes and waited for X’s response. Realizing he was the source of the other’s discomfort, and that Zero had already been the brave person to compensate for how inexperienced X was, the eldest Light sibling gathered all of his nerves.

He went over to pull Zero forward, kissing him deeply. The taller man relaxing in his hold, wrapping his arms around X’s neck felt perfect. The shorter man was content to have the other’s weight pressing down on him, he was surprisingly not that heavy. 

They pulled away when screams were heard coming from outside. X immediately recognized it as Rock and Bass’s voice, sitting upright quickly.

Not far from where they had set up camp, Rock had gone into Mega Man mode since he started scouting the outside. While Bass had been asleep, the boys had heard shuffling. Not wanting to admit to the other that they were scared, the brothers set out to find the source with Rush by their side. Finding the raven haired boy walking over with an odd expression didn’t affect them much, Rock feeling relieved to have a larger group. 

“We need to protect the camp--”

They froze when they heard more shuffling. Bass was pulled into his own fear, it was dark and they had no idea what was lurking close by. Rock put on a brave face, whispering for the others as well as himself.

“The Maverick Hunters were counting on us to stand guard, but we need to act quickly.”

“Who the hell are they?”

“X and Zero!”

“Now is not the time for your stupid game…”

Bass grumbled lightly, but he started to realize it was more than that for Rock. It was how he handled stressful situations, something Bass struggled to do and instead would resort to anger. Or running away, he still was learning how to pick his battles.

Even though he had dismissed it a second ago, he found himself getting into his role as well. As the human Bass, he would be a coward and find the fastest exit route from something scary. But as Mega Man’s rival Forte, the greatest android in the world…

They were both running forward while yelling. Blues followed them, walking at a leisurely pace and looking around the woods to find no danger. Whatever it was they were hearing was most likely an animal, probably nothing that would bother them. He kept telling himself this so he wouldn’t panic internally.

After some exploring, the boys looked around in the region they concluded was the source of the odd sounds. It was a relief that they found the offender had been Tango, the cat had wandered out and gotten stuck in some of the dense bushes. Rock was running over to get his cat, happy to see the tabby. 

X and Zero walked up from behind at some point, standing near for some unknown time frame. It made Blues jump when he heard his brother’s voice, turning to look at them both.

“Maybe don’t go out to play when the sun goes down.”

“We didn’t---I wasn’t---”

“It’s fine, just don’t do it again.”

Blues was distracted by the overwhelming urge to ask what those two could have been up to that got rid of all the tension from earlier. Seeing the newfound glow on X’s face made him keep those comments to himself, refocusing on Rock and Bass petting the cat curled in Rock’s arms.

“Wanna hold her? She doesn’t mind.”

“Sure…”

Bass held her delicately, as though he was afraid she would break. She was purring, making the boy smile as he held the warm mass of furr and pet her along her back. 

The display made Blues and the eldest siblings relax. Zero was glad Rock had this effect on Bass.

“Alright, if everything’s ok, then I’m going to bed. X, you coming?”

“Y-yeah.”

He was almost skipping behind the other male. Rock and Blues watched, not understanding what could’ve changed the dynamic for those two. They looked over at Bass, who shrugged.

“Don’t think too hard. I don’t want to think about it at all.”

“But--”

“They’re happy, ok! So shut up already, I want to go to bed.”

He was still holding Tango. He didn’t let her go until the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you needed a pep talk about school and life, here ya go, take it hidden in this mega man fanfiction during a romance scene. 
> 
> Depending on the game you’re playing, Dr. Light can sound like those parents that worry too much/are overly sweet. I mixed that with how my godfather and my mother talk. Unsurprisingly, the dialogue fits most situations.
> 
> Dr. Light: I got you these new shoes but promise me you’ll only use them for good, sweetpea!
> 
> Dr. Light: My beloved, you must go to school today. You may hate this teacher, but it’s your future at stake, not his.
> 
> Dr. Light: Well I’m glad you’re keeping yourself busy. If you kept coming into my office with those breakdowns, I wouldn’t know what to do. Go play with the dog and forget about the whole sorry business
> 
> Dr. Light: You’re not fat, dear. Yes, you’ve gotten fuller but you’re fine. Please stop fretting over this. The vet said you were lovely, if that’s of any merit.
> 
> Dr. Wily gets line from my dad


End file.
